


Back for More

by Xazz



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: AU, American Football, F/M, Fluff, Football, High School, High School AU, Jock/Nerd, M/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, One Night Stand, Pining, Slash, Slow Burn, Underage - Freeform, burn so slow you could smoke meat, preslash, teenagers that act like teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-18
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-02 03:08:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 103
Words: 239,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/364332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Xazz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Desmond ends up having a one night stand with only one of the most popular (allegedly straight) guys in school. It is both everything he expected and he probably could have used a memo on how to deal with possessiveness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**0 hours**

Staring up at the ceiling he thought hard about why and how this had happened. Really there was no reason for it, totally none. Yet here he was. Desmond blinked at the ceiling in a sort of half daze half stupor that was really the same thing trying to figure it all out. It was really unfair to wake up in a bed that wasn’t yours, especially when you hadn’t expected to wake up here in the first place. He squeezed his eyes closed and pinched himself. His eyes shuttered open a moment later, hoping. Same yellow ceiling. Not his.

Fuck.

Slowly he reached up and rubbed his face. Or he tried to. His arm was currently under arrest by… fuck he did not want to think about that. Not really. He simply used his other hand to do so instead with a sigh. He started whee the alarm clock started going off and quickly looked over at it. The clock read nine thirty. Next to him the body moved and he stiffened a little as they roused themselves and, leaning over him, slapped the alarm silent. Desmond just stared at them, wide eyed. Up close they smelled like sex, expensive cologne, sweat and a night of drinking and Desmond could see the way their muscles rippled under their skin.

Only once the clock was off did they seem to realize that there was someone else there and after a moment turned lamp-like, amber, eyes on him. They blinked at him tiredly and Desmond pressed back into the pillow. “Well, this is different,” they said and blinked at him, licking their lips. Then they closed their eyes for a few seconds, as though it was too much of an effort to keep them open before they fluttered open and they pushed off of him and rolled out of bed. Desmond’s eyes were glued to them as they stood up and stretched facing away from them. “I’ve got work, so just see yourself out,” they said and that was rather startling, though really Desmond didn’t know why he was surprised. They weren’t exactly nice during the rest of the day, he doubted they would be to some random one-night stand.

Desmond forced himself to say something when they turned back to look at him with a slightly questioning eye, as if they thought he was stupid. “Right,” he said, his voice maybe was a bit too high. They just looked away and walked towards another room, which Desmond realized was the bathroom, Desmond watched them, it was kind of hard not to, they had a really amazing ass and oh my god Desmond should not be thinking about their ass this was a bad idea all over!

Once the door closed Desmond leapt out of the bed and stood naked in the middle of the room, nothing was familiar but he quickly found pieces of his clothes, which were scattered around the room with some others in the semblance of a trail from the door to the bed. He dressed quickly and located his wallet, phone and keys still in the pockets of his jeans and jacket before he left quickly. He didn’t know where he was, or where the fuck his motorcycle was.

When he left the bedroom he was more than a little bewildered to see where he was. He was in a fucking mansion… A MANSION. Who the fuck actually lived in a mansion‽ Apparently they did. Oh fuck oh fuck _oh_ ** _fuck_**! He scuttled down the hall and pulled out his cellphone, thank god it still had some juice left. First he had to get out of here and then he had to make a call. 

It seemed to take him forever to find the exit and he darted right out the door with hopefully none the wiser and walked quickly down the long driveway. He pressed number three on his speed dial as he walked.

“It’s too early for this man,” Clay whined through the receiver.

“Thank god you’re awake! I only called-

“Four times, I know,” he groaned. “I’m a step away from hung over, what do you want?” and Desmond heard the blankets on his friend’s bed rustling as a near silent protest about Desmond calling him.

“Can you come pick me up?”

“Pick you up? What the fuck? Where are you?”

Desmond looked around for a street sign, by now he’d left the driveway and was walking along a street. “I have no fucking idea.”

“Well, that’s nice,” Clay sighed. Desmond found a street sign quickly after that though and told Clay where he was. “What the fuck are you doing there? That’s like on the other side of town,” he groaned. “Do I have to come pick you up man, can’t you like… catch a cab?”

“Yeah, I can totally catch a cab in the middle of fucking rich old white people central,” Desmond bitched right back.

Clay gave a great huffing sigh of someone who was long tormented. “Fine. But tell me what you were even doing there.”

“Well, at this particular moment? Performing a surreal walk of shame.”

There was silence or a moment on the other end, “Did you go home with some creepy old man Desmond? I thought we talked about this.”

“Fuck you. No, I didn’t. I… well you’ll never believe me.”

“Try me,” Clay droned.

“Okay,” Desmond said slowly. “Who’s the hottest guy you know?”

“You.”

Desmond rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his skull. “I’m being serious,” Desmond said as he heard Clay stumble around his room.

“Fine,” Clay chuckled. “We’ll go with with play boy number one; Ezio.”

“No. Think sportsman and actually gay.”

“He’s so gay man, and still Ezio, he does that baseball thing.”

“He so isn’t and think less… promiscuous.”

Clay was silent for a moment except for some mic noise. Then the silence grew pregnant. “Holy shit you’re joking!” he suddenly exclaimed.

“Nope.”

“I thought he was strait!”

“Not if my memory of last night holds any water he isn’t.”

“Daaaaaaamn. You just got the ass that half the fucking school lusts after, you realize this right? Well, at least the half that isn’t into that pancake-face Ezio,” Clay said excitedly.

“Yeah. I know,” Desmond said awkwardly. “So you coming to get me or what?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming,” Clay said as Desmond heard him stumble out of his house and curse from the sun. “But, just so we’re on the same page and I’m not totally off base here. Who’s bed did you wake up in this morning?” he could hear the smirk in Clay’s voice and a car door slam shut over the mic.

Desmond felt his face grow a bit warm just even thinking about it. “Altair,” he said, barely loud enough to be heard, as if someone was going to pop out of the bushes and attack him. Like maybe one of the girls who liked to flirt with him near every damn day.

“Okay last question before I actually have to pay attention to the road so you don’t bitch at me for driving and talking at the same time.”

“I have such a bad feeling about this…”

“He good?”

Desmond was silent for a few seconds, his mouth working mutely, like a keyboard smash on mute. “Amazing,” he finally said. He heard Clay snort. “Just get over here,” he whined. Clay said he’d be there as quick as he could and then hung up. Sheepishly Desmond looked behind him, back the way he’d come, and could see Altair’s… fucking mansion (still who lived in a fucking mansion it was ridiculous!) through the trees. He pressed a hand to his face and looked away before walking in a random direction, hopefully towards the direction Clay was coming from.

This was his life. Of course this was his life. Only shit like this happened to Desmond Miles.


	2. Chapter 2

**-45 hours**

Desmond could feel his leg start to shake as he listened to his math teacher drone. His stomach growled a little, he was ready for lunch and the bell for second lunch just couldn’t come fast enough. He jiggled his leg, staring at the clock and not even pretending to pay attention to his Calc class. Not like most kids were either, there were a few but the majority of this so called AP Calc class was eager for lunch and talking. The teacher was new and had seemingly resigned themselves that their class was shit. Desmond knew that of course. There was a reason he was an entire year younger then everyone despite being a senior himself.

Then, finally, the bell rang and Desmond jumped to his feet and was out the door before the echo had even faded. He walked quickly out of the pod, throwing his backpack across his back as he did and stepped out into the open air hallway. The heat of the winter sun blasted him. It was November here and Desmond was still in T-shirts and jeans. Though so was everyone else so it wasn’t that weird. He walked quickly down the hallway, the breeze from the nearby ocean throwing up the litter on the gray floor and down the stairs with the rest of the mass, making a b-line for the cafeteria.

Desmond was always impatient when it came to food and he rocked back and forth on his heels in the pizza line. As he waited Clay slipped into line next to him. “You’re ganna get caught one day,” he told his blonde friend boredly as he grabbed his styrofoam tray.

“Like I give a fuck,” Clay said with his characteristic smile and grabbed one as well. “Also Lucy’s been looking for you.”

“Oh boy,” Desmond said sarcastically. “About?”

“Something about an English assignment,” he said thoughtfully as they waited in line to get to the milk and À la carte items.

“Shit,” Desmond muttered, it was the one class he had with kids his own age.

“She going to skin you?”

“Something like that,” Desmond lamented.

“So I should keep the sporks away from her then,” Clay grinned at him and Desmond just gave him a very unamused look. “Also apparently there’s a party this weekend.”

“There’s always a party,” Desmond drawled and picked out two cartons of milk and set them on his tray.

“Not like this,” Clay said his hand having darted to grab his own carton before the sliding glass door of the fridge had closed all the way. “It’s an Auditore gig,” and Desmond turned to look at him.

“Like we could get into one of those,” he said, maybe only a bit bitter. Ezio Auditore was old money and old blood in the city, which was weird since he wasn’t Cuban, since usually they had the market cornered on both those things! But regardless, the second son of the family was one of the most popular and good looking guys Desmond had ever met, and he was loaded.

“Not by that pancake-face,” Clay said as Desmond punched in his lunch code to pay. Desmond rolled his eyes upwards a little, Clay thought Ezio had a face like a pancake, it was silly but who was Desmond to say otherwise. “His brother’s back from college for some reason and apparently he’s throwing one. Everyone who wants to come is invited,” he continued as Desmond waited a step away from the register as he pulled out his wallet and shoved three bucks at the lady for his food.

“And how’d you hear this?”

Clay didn’t answer till they’d bullied their way out of the crowded cafeteria and into the big courtyard where people were sitting under the pavilion eating. They headed towards the band room and auditorium though. “I heard some of the guys in gym talking about it.”

“Because they are, of course, a _wealth_ of knowledge.”

“They are when it’s Yusuf.”

“Oh,” Desmond said thoughtfully. If one of Ezio’s close friends was talking about it it had to be true. They arrived near one of the overhanging crosswalks that connected two of the school buildings where there was a large, bench-like, concrete, planter. The rest of their group of friends were already there, and like Clay, were an entire grade below Desmond even if they were all the same age. Well, except Rebecca, but she was just a brain freak.

“Lucy’s looking for you,” Rebecca said from Shaun’s lap, effectively making it near impossible for him to eat his lunch. She had a Red Bull in hand and her headphones perched just behind her ears. Shaun was trying to use both his hands at the same time while also dealing with a lapful of energetic girlfriend and having a trouble at it.

“So I heard,” Desmond sighed as he and Clay sat on the planter. “Where is she?”

“Not a clue,” Rebecca said with a grin and sipped her Red Bull.

“So I get to be surprised before murdered. Awesome,” he sighed before turning into his food. If he was going to get chewed out he might as well do it on a full stomach.

“Soooo,” Clay said, “That party-

“You mean the one Federico Auditore is throwing‽” Rebecca asked excitedly and Shaun gave a wordless cry of protest when she leaned over his lap so far she looked maybe about to fall off and he really couldn’t use either of his hands as they were now required to hold her in place.

“Yeah!” Clay said, just as energetically. Desmond looked between the two of them like they were insane and sent Shaun a sympathetic look. “We’re totally going.”

“When is it?” Desmond actually jumped at Lucy’s voice. He swallowed, but she didn’t look particularly angry, not yet at least.

“Tomorrow night,” Clay said and scooted closer to Desmond so she could sit on his other side. Thank god too. “The only thing is, you know, it’s on Shark Key.”

“I’ve gone further,” Rebecca said. “I’ve gone all the way to Marathon for one once. Too bad it was shit.”

“That’s cause Marathon is shit,” Shaun said without any inflection.

“Anyway,” Clay said. “We’re totally all going, right?” he asked.

“I need a ride,” Lucy said, “Dad took my car.”

“Again? What’d you do?” Clay asked.

“Got a B on a bio test.”

“Dude, your dad is so weird,” Rebecca proclaimed, Lucy just shrugged. “He isn’t even Asian either!” that made Lucy giggle and Clay laugh.

“That’s cause there are no Asians here,” Clay reminded them all. Really there were probably a grand total of five Asians in their entire school, if that. “I’ll give you a ride,” Clay added.

“I bet you will,” Rebecca muttered soft enough so that only Desmond and Shaun heard and Shaun was now busily choking on his sandwich from laughing.

“Desmond,” Lucy said and he leaned around one blonde friend to look at the other one. “Did you do your homework.”

“Of course I did,” he lied. Shit. She just gave him a look and he knew she knew. Were girls like… wizards or some shit? How did they know when men lied? “No,” he confessed.

She just made this put off noise that showed exactly how she felt about that. “I am not failing this class because of you Desmond,” she said sharply.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I had a lot of chem homework last night okay?”

“But dude, you’re an ace at chem,” Rebecca said and he turned around to just _glare_ at her. She gave him a cheeky grin.

“You need to actually read the material if we’re going to get this assignment,” Lucy tore his attention away from the other girl.

“I know. I will, I promise,” he said.

“Good,” she said with a nod. “Because if I don’t get an A and my dad grounds me… well-

“I get it!” Desmond yelped, terrified. Holy shit he did not want Lucy to be pissed at him. They were friends yeah, but she could be scary sometimes. Clay snorted. “I’ll do the work,” he whined. “Just don’t kill me.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “I’m not going to kill you.”

“Oh thank god.”

“Just maim you a little.”

“Luuucy,” he whined and she laughed.

“So besides Desmond’s perhaps imminent death and that idiot’s party, what else is going on?” Shaun asked, he seemed to have given up on his lunch as a whole now and just had his arms around Rebecca’s waist.

“Lot of nothing,” Clay said, and really, when Clay said there was nothing going on, there really was nothing going on. He was in everyone’s business and had more gossip and knew more rumors than any girl Desmond knew. “Unless you count the fact that Ezio has a new fling, but that isn’t really news or interesting to anyone.”

“Nope.”

“There a betting pool yet?” Rebecca asked.

“Not yet,” Clay admitted. “Though I haven’t talked to the theater kids yet, so I’ve yet to hear if they started one.”

“So the only interesting thing is this party?”

“Uhm,” Clay tipped his head back as he thought, staring up at the bright blue November sky and maybe giving himself retina damage by looking into the sun. They all sort of leaned towards him, since Clay could tell you the most interesting gossip. “No,” he said at last.

“Well, that’s disappointing,” Desmond said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Clay shrugged. “Also, I’m going to Smathers after school if that counts.”

“Why?”

“Some volleyball thing I saw. Co-ed,” he grinned. Desmond saw Lucy roll her eyes. For a smart guy Clay was amazingly stupid sometimes. “Wanna come?” he asked them.

“For a while, I got work today,” he half frowned.

“I’ll come by,” Rebecca said enthusiastically, Shaun didn’t look too pleased by that. Desmond didn’t blame him, the ginger turned into a lobster when his girlfriend (inevitably) dragged him out to the beach, and she would for this, and probably make him play. The idea of Shaun playing sports was on the side of hilarious.

“I can’t,” Lucy said, “SGA meeting.”

“Damn, okay,” Clay said. “Well, that’s the end of my usefulness today I can tell,” he joked and hopped to his feet, grabbing his tray and Desmond’s and going to throw their trash away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /gross laughter at this chapter

**-40 hours**

Desmond pulled up to the beach curb, his bike’s engine thrumming. It was an older Kawasaki, that he’d gotten cheap from some older man up the Keys before he’d even gotten his license. When he’d gotten it it’d been red, but now it was matte black and chrome, the pipes wrapped in some black industrial tape. It’d also been in a lot worse shape then now. He’d spent the two years between moving to Key West and getting his license to fix it up till she purred like an angel. He pulled off his helmet and reached down to turn off the engine before slinging his leg over the side and getting off the bike, who’s pipes crackled softly from recently being warm.

Smathers was one of the manmade beaches in the city and definitely the biggest and well trafficked thanks to how close it was to the airport. Right now was the off season though and while still in the eighties and nineties out there weren’t a lot of people out and about. But he did hear some people calling nearby and shrugged off his shoulder as he went to find the source of the noise, which Clay had assured him there would be people around, which was good enough for him.

He climbed up the stairs set into the small dune and headed for the twin volley ball nets set up in the sand for anyone to use. There was a group of about twenty kids, all of them from school (though only a few Desmond could recognize by name) mingling around the nets in their swim wear. Well Clay had been right about one thing, plenty of cute girls. Cute boys too. Oh the benefits of living in a city where it was warm three hundred and sixty days out of the year. He spotted Shaun’s red hair amid the mass as well as Becca’s traffic cone-orange board shorts and halter top. Desmond was thankful to be wearing sunglasses or he would have been blinded by her clothes.

“Desmond!” he looked away at his name and saw Clay, who was waving him over. He went quickly. “Why’re you still in jeans man?” he asked.

“I literally just got here, cut me some damn slack will ya?” Desmond sniped right back.

“Yeah yeah, okay, we’re about to start so undress already and-

Desmond was laughing, “Only you could tell someone to undress with that much lack of care man,” he said, Clay just smiled ruefully at him.

“We’re ganna split into teams in a minute,” he added. Desmond nodded and dropped his backpack next to the other stuff that was clearly from the high school kids. He folded up his jacket and stowed it inside along with his shoes and socks and the rest of his clothes till he was just in his swim trunks and sun glasses.

When he rejoined them he found Shaun, “Where’s your sunblock?” he asked knowing Shaun would keep some on him. The brit just sent him a dirty look but handed the small tube over and Desmond slathered some quickly on his shoulders and upper arms as well as his face and ears.

“Okay!” he heard Clay call. Of course he was. Desmond had a feeling he’d been the one to help organize this entire thing, even though he claimed he’d just found out about it. Clay was forever doing ten things at once, and it honestly wouldn’t have surprised Desmond if this was one of them. The crowd quieted. “I honestly didn’t think so many people would show up holy shit you’re a fucking mob!” and there was some general laughter. “So we’re ganna a have four teams of six, since there are so many of you and we’re just ganna have some fun for a bit before seeing if maybe we do some matches later on,” he said throwing one of the volleyballs between his hands. “It’s ganna be gym class style with captains picking teams, so everyone will get to play and so you guys aren’t assholes,” more general laughter. “So our team captains are me, Rachel, Stephen and Altair,” Desmond felt his eyes automatically track around the crowd for the three of them even as they stepped up next to Clay. “I’ll go first, then you, you and you last till we’re out of people,” Clay told the other three, pointing at each in turn, who nodded. “Desmond,” as if Desmond was surprised and he trotted up to stand behind Clay.

The teams were divided up quickly and Rebecca ended up on Altair’s team, Shaun (picked near last) on Rachel’s. But that was fine, it’d do them both good to not be attached at the hip. Seriously they were probably the most guilty couple of gross amounts of PDA, that said nothing for Shaun’s habit of sugary sweet pet names for her. Once the teams had ben arranged they squared off and basically just hit the ball back and forth for a while. Most of the players really weren’t that good, but it didn’t matter, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Desmond was one of the better players, but that was mainly thanks to his good hand-eye coordination developed from years of playing video games as a kid.

After a while though some of the others brought up switching teams around and doing some sort of fun contest. So they all jumbled together again and new teams were picked, though Desmond ended up on Clay’s team again since he got first pick. He saw that at least Stephen looked annoyed by that, but said nothing since he really wasn’t a confrontational sort. Some people opted out of the tourney including Shaun and enough did that they reduced the teams down to three. Altair was the captain who stepped down so he could just play and Rachel quickly snatched him up after Clay had made his first choice.

“You wanna serve man?” Clay asked him once they got onto the sand, Rachel’s team waiting while they played against Stephen’s since she was the only team with a full six players.

“Sure,” and Desmond snatched the ball out of the air when Clay threw it to him and walked to the back as his friend told the others where to stand around the net. “Ready?” he called to his team and several glanced back to give him a nod. He nodded himself and tossed the ball into the air and as it fell back down he hit it across the court and over the net.

The skirmish lasted a good while, people diving into the sand to keep the ball up in the air as often as possible and there was more than a little friendly insults as well as some cheering from the sidelines. In the end though Stephen’s team won by two points and the entire team high fived and slapped shoulders and in general were obnoxious winners.

Before the next match started, between Clay’s team and Rachel’s, Desmond went over to his back pack and checked his cell phone. It was six forty-five and he had to be at work at eight. He did some quick math and knew that he could get home, shower and get to work in not too much time. Not enough time to play an entire set though and this didn’t look like it was going to end any time soon, as he heard talk of people saying they should order pizza from a place on Flagler that apparently did amazing pizza.

“Hey, Clay,” he said once he was back on the sand.

“Yo,” Clay spun around from talking to one of the others, ball in hand, smile on his face.

“I won’t be able to stay the entire next game, that cool?”

“What? Yeah sure man, all good,” he beamed at his friend, “I’ll ring Shaun in to take your place or something,” and they both laughed. “Okay!” he yelled turning away from him. “Rachel prepare to get your ass whooped!” he called holding the ball above his head and stomping over to the blocked off area.

“Kiss my ass Clay,” she called back and stuck her tongue out at him from her side.

“Babe, I would lick your ass if you let me,” and everyone laughed and a few catcalled while Rachel turned red with embarrassment and anger, even though they all knew Clay was just playing. Honestly Desmond didn’t know why he was surprised his friend was single, he was obnoxious.

“C’mon man, lets just play,” Desmond said elbowing him hard in the ribs as he followed after and slipped the ball out of Clay’s hands, deciding he was going to serve the start again like last game.

Less than ten minutes later he’d given up his position as the server to play the net. Might as well have some last bit of fun before he had to go. Across from him was Altair, standing easy on the other side of the net as they waited for the ball to be served. Then it sailed over the net and was pushed forward to the other side of the net, Desmond tracked the ball the entire time, waiting for a chance. Then someone missed and the ball thudded into the sand on Rachel’s side. Desmond let out a whoop along with the rest of his team.

The other side conversed for a brief moment, it was their serve, by their rules at least, and Rachel stepped to the corner of the line to punt the ball. Desmond watched it arch towards the net towards him but saw it was going to fall short of the net, meaning that Altair was going to hit it over the net and behind Desmond. He saw the other boy brace himself as if he was about to jump and when Altair left the ground to reach the ball Desmond was right there with him. 

He extended him arms to push it back even as Altair hit the ball and Desmond got to watch it sail right through his fingers and his eyes widened behind his sunglasses before

When Desmond came to, however many moments later, there were two faces hovering over him. “Desmond,” Clay was calling his name. “Desmond,” he called again and Desmond could hear the white noise of people talking in worried tones beyond the two faces. He expected Clay, but why was Altair leaning over him? It took him a second to work that out. Oh right, because Altair had spiked the ball right into his face. “Earth to Desmond, can you hear me?” Clay’s hand gently shook his shoulder.

Desmond turned his head a bit to look at his friend. “Yeah,” he said dumbly.

“You okay?” Altair asked and Desmond’s attention was drawn to the other boy who’d put him here, on the sand.

“I think so,” he said blinking and then stood up, the two quickly gave him space. “How long was I down?” he asked neither of them in particular.

“About three minutes,” Clay said, “Long enough to freak me out,” he frowned deeply.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Altair asked again, “I’m sorry about that,” he added quickly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Desmond said shaking his head slightly and inspected his face with his hand. “I think this is my cue to go home and get ready for work,” he added to his friend.

“Yeah,” Clay agreed and helped Desmond to his feet. He could support himself.

“What happened to my shades?” he asked once he was vertical.

“Uh…” and Altair guiltily held out his Costas. One of the lenses was broken. “Sorry,” he said again.

Desmond puffed his cheeks out for a moment before taking them, “It’s okay, I needed to get a new pair anyway,” he sighed and folded them up.

“You okay to get your butt home?” Clay asked.

“Yeah. Really, I’m fine,” Desmond waved him off as he dusted sand off his back and hair.

“That’s good,” Clay said with a slight smile. “He’s all right everyone, stop clucking!” he called to the others.

“See you tomorrow,” Desmond told his friend who nodded and he made his way over to his bag where Shaun intercepted him. “I’m fine,” he said before Shaun could even say a word.

“Okay,” Shaun accepted it, “Want a ride home?”

“No. What part of I’m fine did you not hear?” Desmond scowled at him, squinting up at him as he dug in his backpack for his jeans. He’d forgo his shirt for the ride home and just wear his jacket. Too lazy to put it on really.

“Sorry for being concerned,” Shaun snapped.

“I’m fine, okay?” Desmond grumbled. “Seriously it was just a volleyball.”

“Yeah one that’s left an amazing red mark on your face,” Shaun said sarcastically. Desmond blinked at him. “What? Altair spiked it into your face. Of course there’s a mark!” and Shaun almost looked like he’d start laughing.

“Wonderful,” Desmond grumbled and stood up and pulled on his pants. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he added.

“Go to the hospital if you black out.”

“Thanks dad, I sure will,” he said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes as he pulled on his jacket and zipped it up. As he pulled his backpack strap over his head he waved at the others who were watching or playing and headed back towards his bike.

She was right where he left her and he was glad to sit astride her. He felt he had bit of a burn on his face, wonderful, and he had to buy new sunglasses. Oh it’d be fun to ride home that was for sure. He sighed and dug his keys out of a side pocket before starting his baby. She rumbled to life between his thighs. This was seriously the only girl he ever needed. He pulled on his helmet, clipping the chin strap into place and flipped up the kickstand before pulling out onto South Roosevelt, he made sure to gun the engine just a bit harder then required as he passed by the volleyball game, startling one and he heard at least one whistle loudly after him. Desmond grinned to himself as he squinted into the wind.


	4. Chapter 4

**-21 hours**

Desmond was leery as hell as he followed Clay into the band room. Well, not really the band room, they might get skinned if they went in there. But the band and chorus room were on the same hallway that was connected to the big auditorium, it was also like the only hallway that was actually inside aside for the ones in the main office. There were more than a few band nerds eating their lunch on the tile floor, talking and ignoring the two non band members.

Clay peered into the band room, where yet more band kids were. Seriously, did they fucking live here? Desmond had no idea how band kids worked, he sort of just assumed they had a lot of sex and then budded to create freshmen band nerds. He probably wasn’t that far wrong actually, which was the terrifying part. He was however fearing for his friend’s safety when he opened the door, sure that someone who either yell at him or just devour him whole. The band in Key West was really good, but they were also kinda terrifying, and really serious about what they did. “Clay,” he said anxiously, since a few sun bronzed guys with more muscles then Desmond were sort of giving them both a _look_ , as if they knew they didn’t belong there.

“There he is,” he heard Clay said, “Hey Rauf!” he called suddenly and slipped into the band room. Wary to be by himself Desmond followed after. Oh this was such a bad idea.

“What’re you doing here Kaczmarek?” asked the older boy when they neared, “band room’s for band members only during lunch. Desmond recognized the other guy, mainly from football games. He was Band Captain. During the marching season, like now, he had a shaved face but Desmond recognized him more with a beard, mainly because he was one of the few who could actually grow one (Cubans had trouble growing facial hair it seemed). He wasn’t exactly a big guy, but he looked bigger then he was and was one of those badasses who marched with a fuck off huge sousaphone in half time shows.

“Hey, I was in band once, I consider myself an honorary member,” Clay said with that damn sly grin of his.

Rauf sighed, “What is it?”

“Just turning the rumor mill,” and Rauf laughed.

“I should have known, what you got?” and Desmond watched, more then a bit amazed as Clay spilled on gossip he’d told the others just earlier that lunch. “I swear you’re worse then a girl, bud,” he told Clay when he was done.

“Yeah and you band kids have the best gossip. Oh, also, theater kids started a betting pool for Ezio’s new fling. Jeremy and I are keeping on tabs with the pool and it’s a five buck minimum buy in.” Desmond realized now that his friend was probably the reason most of those dumb betting pools actually started and made any money. Yet another of the ten things Clay did at once.

“I’ll keep my money on this one,” Rauf said simply. 

“Damn, you always pick good times though,” Clay pouted.

Rauf just smirked, “I think you should slow down Kaczmarek, you’re scaring your friend,” and Clay finally looked at Desmond who was looking at him like was the first time he’d ever seen his friend ever.

“What?” Clay asked.

“Dude,” was all Desmond said, eyeing him. Clay grinned at him broadly.

Then Clay turned away from him, “So I shared my laundry, what you got?” and Desmond saw him whip out the mental notepad he kept that allowed him to remember entire classes nearly verbatim without notes as well as collect the most useless gossip.

“Well, we’re playing Marathon next week and—“ Desmond half tuned out after that. The rivalry between Key West and Marathon was legendary. The thing was though that Marathon, for a school two times smaller then them, had a really impressive football team. Now the Conchs were nothing to scoff at, but the Dolphins and them always went back and forth with win loss and whenever there was a game between the two teams they ended up on front page of the sports section of the Citizen and usually on the front of the main paper as a note that there was news about them. So much drama between two schools barely thirty miles apart.

The gossip column was only interrupted when the bell rang. “Well, have to go, later Rauf,” Clay said and then was dragging Desmond away with a wave. Rauf just seemed amused as they entered the hall again which was now even more filled with band kids, some going into the band room or leaving the building for their classes. 

“Why did you make me suffer through that?” Desmond asked once they’d grabbed their backpacks from where their friends were and agreed they’d meet at the party later and see who drew the short straw to be the designated driver, though Desmond would see Lucy later in English.

In typical Clay fashion however he didn’t answer. “You see that guy in the band room with Rauf?”

“There were several,” Desmond said with a groan as he headed towards chem, Clay for history.

“The one in the Captain office.”

“I wasn’t paying attention, no,” Desmond admitted.

“Well, I was paying attention. It was Yusuf Tazim.”

“Yeah, so?” Desmond rose a brow at him as the climbed the stairs up to the second floor with the rest of the mass.

“He’s been there every day this week, and he’s not in band, not only that he’s in the Captain’s office. Only the band leaders are allowed in there.”

“I don’t really see where you’re going with this,” Desmond sighed and they stood outside the pod doors to Clay’s class as Desmond’s was at the other end of the building, and he had to stop at his locker along the way anyway. “It’s some mad conspiracy isn’t it?” he asked as a pair of freshmen shoved between them, “Excuse you!” he snarled after them and flipped them off, they stared back at him briefly with put off eyes and muttered apologizes even as they continued to hustle to class.

“Dude, the mad conspiracies are the best though! Do you remember last year when I accurately said that Malik and Leo were going to be a thing, and two months later _it was_?”

“That’s just because you’re weird and way too interested in the lives of other people,” Desmond said blandly.

“Only because mine is so fucking boring,” at least Clay didn’t front.

“So tell me your conspiracy,” Desmond sighed, “I have to get to class.”

“Okay, get this,” Clay said and drew him close. “I totally think their a thing.”

“Rauf and Yusuf?” Desmond blinked at him.

“Yeah,” he nodded eagerly.

“You’re nuts. Yusuf’s strait as a damn arrow.”

“So not.”

“How do you know?”

“I have gym and bio with him.”

“So what, does he ogle other dudes in the locker room?” Desmond sent him a look.

“No,” Clay admitted at length. “But I actually have classes with him, you don’t cause you’re a high and mighty bad ass senior pants,” and Desmond gave him a light, playful, shove.

“I think you’re seeing what you want to see,” Desmond informed him.

“I’m calling it now, before semester’s over, Rauf will have jock ass.”

“Uhg, you’re so fucking weird man,” Desmond said. “Betting pools on how long Ezio will keep a girlfriend and conspiring who’s going to date who before it even happened, regardless of the fact that one of them is probably strait. Can’t a jock and a band geek be friends and you not conspire?”

“Where’s the fun in that though?” Clay asked with a pout.

Desmond rolled his eyes, “Go make a shipping chart or something, I have chem,” and he stepped away from him.

“The fact that you know what a shipping chart is is suspect,” Clay called after him, Desmond replied with a smart, one-fingered salute and Clay laughed as he shoved through the doors into his classroom pod.

Desmond headed towards his locker and switched out his books, taking out the ones he’d need for afternoon classes for the ones he currently carried for his morning classes. By now the breezeway was  a lot emptier, the bell would be ringing soon and Desmond hustled to his class. The tardy bell ran as he was entering the pod and he quickly went in through the side door, since their teacher kept the one to the breezeway locked.

Thankfully his teacher was pretty chill and didn’t mind that he was late, they were staring at their computer still and the class was busy talking. Desmond quickly found his seat at the lab table. His permanent lab partner (if only because they shared the same desk) was Caterina, a razor sharp ginger who honestly scared the living crap out of him and was one of those scary feminists who would make you fear the day you had a dick. But that was on her bad days, which weren’t that often (though it was super obvious when she was on her period), and normally she was pretty nice, and really smart. She was also insanely pretty.

“You’re late,” she noted.

“Gossip mill was talking my ear off,” Desmond explained with a shrug, they were good lab partners and Caterina sort of made it her business to make sure Desmond kept up in class since she refused to do work on her own as she was no one’s mule. As such, Desmond was never late for class unless he couldn’t help it, he liked to stay on her good side.

But she grinned at him, “He does have a big mouth for a little guy doesn’t he?”

“He could talk Sookie under the table,” Desmond groaned and Caterina laughed, Desmond grinned at her. “He’s got some weird conspiracy theory about a new romance.”

“Oh? Tell me?”

“No, cause it’s dumb and he’s insane,” he scoffed.

“I guess I’ll find out eventually. He’s usually right.”

“Don’t tell me you believe his bullshit,” he gave her an exasperated look.

“Well, he does seem to know eve- oh, hey Altair,” Caterina cut off when the said senior came to stand in front of their desk.

“Hey Cat, I actually wanted words with your desk mate real quick. Sorry to break up your gossip,” he said amused.

“If this is about yesterday, I am seriously totally fine,” Desmond said looking up at the older boy, not like he hadn’t heard it all up and down from his parents when he got home with a big red mark on his face, or this morning from his friends. Lucy liked to mother hen them, and while normally didn’t mind the reason was embarrassing and he just wanted to forget it ever happened.

“What happened yesterday?” Caterina asked.

“Nothing happ-

“I hit Desmond in the face with a volleyball.”

“You what?” she whisper yelled.

“It was an accident,” Altair said raising his hands in defense and taking a step back. Even the big bad football player had a good respect for the fire cracker that was Caterina Sforza.

“How dare you,” she said, obviously not mad, but making a play at it and grabbed Desmond by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, his face dangerously close to her breasts. “If you harmed my precious lab partner I will kill you Altair, since no doubt the teacher will give me someone sub par to be my partner, like you,” she said smartly.

“I’m fine though!” Desmond put in and pushed himself out of the danger zone that was Caterina’s cleavage. “Seriously, I’m fine,” and he dusted some non existent dust off himself.

“Everyone,” the teacher called as Altair opened his mouth to reply, at last ready to start the class and Caterina flapped her hand at Altair who darted back into his seat as he started to call role. Before he left he sent Desmond another apologetic look and Desmond just rolled his eyes, pulling his homework from where he had put it in his textbook, next to him Caterina was doing the same, only from her binder. He really hoped this whole volleyball thing wouldn’t continue, it was starting to grow old.

—

Desmond found Clay as they were walking to their cars after school was over and clapped his friend on the shoulder with both hands. “So how’s the mad conspiracy?” he asked, slinging an arm across his shoulder as they walked to the back of the parking lot. Here there was always a few spaces open, it was just a bit of a walk. Better then being jammed up at the front of the lot though.

“Still mad,” Clay said, throwing him a grin. “Also Shaun said he has a thing on Saturday he just found out about, parents sprung it on him, so he can’t drink tonight. He’s going to be the DD, easier that way.”

“Yessss,” Desmond did a fist pump into his side. “Well, at least we won’t have to draw straws for this.”

“Agreed,” Clay nodded, “I mean this is the first, and probably only Auditore shin-dig we’ll be going to, we should totally be able to enjoy ourselves.”

“Well, except Shaun,” Desmond said.

“He can drink some tea or something,” and they both laughed. “We’re still all meeting there at nine thirty, got it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Desmond said, “Though I don’t really know where Ezio’s house is,” he frowned as they came to Clay’s car, a beat up beach cruiser that had sand worked into every crevice as well as a large window decal of Salt Life on the back window and a myriad of insulting and funny bumper stickers, half of which were peeling off or faded from the heat.

“Call me when you get to the top of Shark Key, I’ll guide you in, since knowing you you’ll get there after me.”

“You make it sound like I do it on purpose,” Desmond pouted as his friend opened his car door.

“Know you, you probably do,” Clay said giving him a look.

“Okay, I’ll call you,” Desmond agreed.

“Get ready to have an awesome time,” Clay said excitedly and slid into his car and slammed the door closed. Desmond gave a curt wave to his friend before walking a few spaces over to his baby and pulled on his jacket and helmet. She was rumbling to life a moment later and he managed to slip out of the parking lot before Clay and before a good deal other cars who honked at him and yelled out their windows. Desmond just hurled insults right back at them and darted out onto Flagler.


	5. Chapter 5

-12 hours

The party had already started to move outside by the time Desmond arrived. More then a few people turned as he pulled up on his bike, as it wasn’t normal, and from the first floor a few people yelled at him, hollering drunkenly. Desmond revved the engine back at them and two or three girls cheered. Desmond just grinned as he pulled off his helmet.

The house was massive. Like most houses it was up twelve feet, the actual ‘first floor’ up a flight of stairs. There were two floors on top of it as well as an enclosed underside, effectively making the house four floors tall. It was white stucco and had a metal crimp roof and looked like it was packed to the gills with people. The top two floors had no lights on, but the first and ground floor were both blazing with light. Desmond cut the engine and looked back up to the first floor in time for the door to be shoved open and a familiar blonde head zipped down the concrete steps like a bee on crack.

“Des!” he cried.

“Hey. What time this thing even start?”

“Apparently nine, weirdos,” Clay said. “Federico made a grand proclamation a little bit ago when the booze got brought out that everyone had to surrender their keys upon entering the house, and all the good alcohol is on the first floor.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah, and apparently his weird _suuuuuper_ strait edge boyfriend is guarding the liquor table and the keys like a rabid dog.”

“You didn’t see?”

“Nah, handed them to Shaun, he relayed the information.”

“But… you aren’t drunk yet.”

“I got here like ten minutes ago. Now c’mon, I told Lucy I’d be right back and there is this super creepy guy trying to hit on her from across the room.”

“Who?”

“No clue. He’s big and bald and super leery.”

“Right, lets go keep her safe,” Desmond said though really he should have let Clay go do it on his own. He didn’t know how his friend was so obtuse. He followed Clay up the stairs, two of the girls on the deck who’d seen him on his bike eyed him but he just ignored them. Last thing he was interested in right now was a one-night stand.

He’d just made it past the foyer when they were ambushed. “You,” a guy with strait black hair to his shoulders was suddenly in his space. “Hand over your keys,” he ordered.

“Uh,” Desmond leaned back, a little uneasy about having his personal space invaded like this. “Sorry?”

“Vi,” someone came and laid a hand on the black haired man’s shoulder. “Stop scaring the kids,” the shorter man (though only by a little) scowled over at the new one. Desmond looked and his brows went up. Wow. Apparently Ezio wasn’t the only Auditore to have really good genes. He recognized Federico Auditore only because he’d been a senior the year before Desmond had been a freshman and thus he’d sort of been everywhere even when he was gone. Unlike Ezio though he didn’t have a baby face. Desmond sort of stared at him. Holy shit he was _hot_. “Sorry about him,” Federico said and gently pushed the other man away. He just seemed like he was having a bad time here. What had Clay said? Super strait edge? Yeah, and an Auditore party could ruin any strait edge guy’s mood. “If you drove here you’re ganna have to forfeit your keys,” he said with a charming smile.

Desmond wasn’t able to respond in a timely manner. Seriously all his brain was thinking was ‘fuck he’s hot fuck he’s hot fuck he’s hot’. How did people be in the same room with him and not jump him? Oh right, crazy strait edge boyfriend who looked pissed at existence. Desmond needed to say something. “Wow,” and he felt his face turn into a flame.

Federico just laughed and Desmond felt himself being glared at by a very obvious Vi who did not look amused _at all_ (but neither would have Desmond if some high schooler had just made a terrible pass at his boyfriend). “Keys,” Federico just said, thankfully ignoring Desmond’s lack of filter and his furiously red face. Desmond quickly looked away and fished his keys out from his pocket and handed them to Federico. “You can put your helmet and jacket in the closet if you want,” he added pointing to a small closet off to the side. Desmond nodded, ducked away and did just that, if only to get away from both of them.

Fuck fuck fuck. And where was Clay? He had no clue. He quickly hung up his jacket and put his helmet on the floor, out of the way before closing it and turning back around. Hotitore and Vi had, thankfully, left so Desmond didn’t have to walk past them to go find Clay. He left the foyer quickly and followed the sound of music, which was surprisingly soft for a party like this. Not to say it wasn’t loud. But it wasn’t so loud that you had to yell at each other to be heard. It was a very appropriate volume for a party.

He found Lucy, sitting alone. Oh shit. She looked _pissed_ too. Okay well maybe alone wasn’t the best word for it. There was a leech of a guy sitting on the arm of the sofa she was sitting on, very obviously hitting on her. Oh this was not good.

“Hey!” he called and slid right up next to her. She looked at him half relieved, half irritated he wasn’t Clay. She wasn’t about to knock one knight for another though. Desmond knew very well that Lucy wasn’t normally the sort who needed a guy to step in and ‘save’ her. But the very fact that this guy was still sticking around meant he wasn’t getting the hint. “You seen Bec?” he asked. She just shook her head, “C’mon then,” and then he was up again and grabbing her hand and pulling her away, leaving the irritated bald guy behind.

“Thanks,” she said once they were far enough away.

“No sweat. Where’s Clay?”

“You tell me! He said he was going to get you and then ‘poof!’ he vanished,” yeah, she was _not_ happy at all. Desmond would have to seriously sit Clay down and have a talk with him. Honestly this was starting to get out of hand.

“No idea. I got ambushed by the older Auditore for my keys and the next thing I knew he was gone.”

Lucy sighed, “That is so like him.”

“Sorry,” he said and grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Lets get a drink?”

“Please,” she said wearily.

It took them a good minute or so to find the refreshments, it didn’t help that there were people _everywhere_ and they had to dance and weave around them. Finally they came to the table filled it bottles. “Oh hello gorgeous,” Desmond said.

“You’re weird,” Lucy informed him.

“What? I can appreciate the aesthetic of liquor bottles,” Desmond said defensively. “So what you want?”

“Something sweet,” she said, knowing Desmond would take care of her.

“You got it!” and he grabbed a bottle. Desmond was seventeen, but as soon as he was legal he was getting his bar tending license. It was a good job to have here in the Keys, as it was a tourist town. And even if he didn’t stay here after he graduated bartenders were like nurses, they could get jobs anywhere. Desmond had recently also become really interested in trick bar tending. Where they threw the bottles around and made a spectacle of it. Normally Desmond wouldn’t show someone, as he was still learning and only knew a few tricks and really was still rather shit, but Lucy looked like she could use some cheering up. So once he got his hand around the spiced rum he tossed it end over end before catching the neck again. She smiled at him as he opened the bottle and poured a bit into her glass. In went another flavor of rum and then he topped it off with some Coke. “Here you are my lady,” he said with as best a charming smile he could manage.

“Thanks,” she said gratefully and took the drink before sipping at it. “Mmmmm,” she added approvingly. Desmond shot her a cheerful look as he busily mixed himself his own drink. He knew most of the people here would just drink it strait, shooting it like they’d never drink again (heathen) but Desmond didn’t need to shoot or chug to enjoy himself. “Shall we go find the big mouth?” he asked once he had his own drink.

“If you want,” she rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

“You know he gets distracted by shiny things. I doubt he meant to forget where he was going,” he was trying really hard to placate her. He didn’t want them to fight. Hell Lucy had only just done being annoyed at him for falling behind on his English.

“Fine,” she huffed.

They once again weaved through the crowd and ended up on the back deck. The deck was wood and was lit by the moon, the light from the inside and tiki torches along the balcony, as well as from below. When Desmond looked over the edge he saw that there was a  fire pit going on down there. Like it wasn’t hot enough out here already! But the view was amazing as the house was on the water, as most houses on Shark Key were. Lucy joined him at the balcony. “Imagine getting to wake up every day to this view,” she sighed wistfully and took a drink from her cup.

“Yeah. With the rising sun right in your eyes.”

“Desmond,” she said in exasperation and gave him a shove that made him chuckle.

“No, it would be pretty great,” he agreed.

“There you two are!” they turned when they heard Clay’s voice. “Where’d you wander off to I was looking for you?”

“We were looking for you,” Desmond said since Lucy was currently ignoring their friend.

“Well… damn,” he laughed. “Having fun so far?”

“So far,” Desmond agreed. “You have anything to drink yet?”

“I did two shots of Jäger with some seniors if that counts,” Clay said with a cheeky grin.

“Euck,” Desmond made a face. “That stuff is like cough syrup.”

“Hey, I like it. Also Becca did a shot with me too. Some sort of awesome spiced rum. Not Cap, better.”

“Nice,” Desmond nodded.

“Honestly I’m a bit disappointed.”

“Huh?” Desmond blinked at his friend.

“It’s just like any other party, only the drinks are better. It’s boring, and the music sucks,” he said as some shitty Skrillix song came on.

Desmond laughed, “We could fix that,” he said with a sly grin.

“No,” Lucy butted in.

“We could,” Clay agreed, grinning back.

“Oh fuck. You two are going to get the cops called on us,” Lucy said sharply.

“No we won’t,” Desmond said quickly.

“You did last time at Rosa’s party,” she reminded them.

“That wasn’t _our_ fault,” Clay said defensively. “If Ugo set his pants on fire by accident that isn’t _our_ problem.”

“You bring your iPod?” Desmond asked his friend.

“Always,” and he fished it out from his pocket.

“You aren’t,” Lucy said slowly.

“Oh, we so are,” Desmond said cheerfully and quickly downed the rest of his drink, which was getting low as it was.

“I don’t know you. I have no idea who you are or where you came from,” and she pressed a hand to her face. Desmond and Clay both laughed.

“You know you like it,” Clay said sidling up to her. She sent him an unamused look but nothing else about her body language was actually disapproving.

“No, I don’t,” she said even though now even she was smiling.

“Yesssss you do,” he needled her playfully.

“C’mon Casanova, lets do this,” Desmond said and grabbed his friend by the sleeve and hauled him inside.


	6. Chapter 6

****

-10 hours

****

You’d be hard pressed to find one person at the party who hadn’t enjoyed when Clay and Desmond had slithered to the sound system, an amazingly nice sound system too, and unhooked some old monster iPod that looked like a first gen. Des had stowed it where it could get found later as Clay had hooked up his own iPod to a special party mix he made for when they went to parties and it was boring as fuck; like this one was turning into. Too many people, too much liquor, but nothing actually interesting to do. That and you couldn’t actually dance to dubstep. As great as the music was it wasn’t _club_ music, and thus was shit to actually dance to. Not to mention Skrillix? Were you fucking _kidding_ him?

That had been about an hour ago though now and the party’s gears had turned from some party a college kid (like Federico) might throw, to something that you’d get a DJ to throw. Or at least play music to. Clay was playing DJ with his iPod and a mixing app he had and Desmond was glad to see Lucy sitting next to him.

Desmond scuttled between people who were dancing and laughing and running around to Clay. “Oi,” he said shoving himself between Clay and some other girl who’s name Desmond didn’t know, Clay didn’t probably know, and who Lucy was giving the evil eye. She made an annoyed noise at him but he ignored her. “I think its time for some drinking,” he said.

“Ooooh yeah,” Clay agreed, grinning broadly and he waited until Desmond had made it back to the liquor table before he made the sound of a record being stopped as Desmond climbed onto a chair the music abruptly halting.

Several people turned to him, confused as to why the music had suddenly stopped. Desmond raised a bottle of he didn’t know what. It honestly didn’t matter. “Now where my alcoholics let me see your hands up!” he whooped and on cue Shots started to wail over the sound system as Desmond took a shot strait from the bottle. He could be a heathen sometimes too, it helped that he was now only interested in getting drunk. Before he hadn’t. Now he was. The crowd roared and threw their hands up like the good little drunk bunnies they were. He did a short bit of dancing on the chair before deciding that was an _amazingly bad idea_ and hopped down.

He made his way back towards Clay and handed him the bottle. “For you my good king,” Desmond laughed and fell into the now empty space on Clay’s other side where the unknown girl had been earlier.

“Excellent,” and Clay took a shot and passed it to Lucy who was a good enough of a sport to not ruin their fun and did a shot as well. She was the sober one here though and they all knew it. She wasn’t a big drinker but she knew that once Clay and Desmond decided that they needed to make a party more fun they had an unspoken agreement to just get _smashed_. Desmond would probably regret it tomorrow, but fuck it; it was Saturday.

Desmond settled next to his friend with a content sigh. “Party is definitely good now,” he said cheerfully.

“Ha! No shit,” Clay said.

“You wanna go hang? I can man the iPod,” Desmond said and looked around his friend to Lucy.

“I think—“ in a rare moment of personal understanding Clay actually got what Desmond was doing. Clay, for all that he was very into everyone else's business and knew what to tell anyone to get them to get into someone else's pants, was very unaware of his own potential love life. It seemed drunk Clay was personally insightful though. “Yeah, thanks,” and he shoved the iPod at Desmond and got up, dragging Lucy with him without so much as a request. She did not look upset in the slightest however.

Desmond scrolled through the music on the playlist looking for something good to follow up Shots that was actually good for dancing. He found a remix of Alejandro and fitted it into the mixing app for a pre-listen, shoving the headphones over one of his ears. He adjusted the speed a little and as Shots ended it came on. Desmond wasn’t as good with the app as Clay, but he could work it well enough.

He looked up when a girl slid up next to him. He recognized her, but not by name, only her face. She was a senior, friends with Caterina, had brown hair twisted into intricate braids, and a smile that was both alluring and cunning like the edge of a knife. This was a girl who knew what she wanted. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” he said, trying to sound easy going.

“So you’re the one who got this place going?”

“One of the master minds yeah,” he agreed casually like it didn’t matter.

“I’m Maria.”

“Desmond.”

“I’m glad someone saved this party, usually they’re so dull.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Ezio has them _all_ the time. They’re kinda boring, people just come because they know they can get free drinks.”

“Huh, wouldn’t know, I never come to Ezio’s parties.”

“Maybe you should start,” Maria said and her smile flashed.

“I dunno. I’m starting to think I’m too cool for these things,” Desmond joked as Shots faded away and Lady GaGa got to smash itself against the walls from the speakers.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if you did,” she said and pressed her leg up against his. Even a little drunk Desmond’s brain was going ‘abort! abort!’ he wasn’t interested in having a one night stand and if Maria was friends with Catarina he’d also probably end up a conquest. It wasn’t like under a different circumstance he wouldn’t hit that like Mjӧlnir but the very fact that he could spell Mjӧlnir properly meant that, well, girls like Maria were _way_ out of his league.

“Heh, yeah, well, he kinda lives far away,” Desmond said awkwardly.

“Really? Where do you live?”

He just blurted out the first key that came to mind, “Ramrod.”

“Oh,” she said but looked like she was drawing a blank. Not a surprise, Ramrod was just a small key between two that people in Key West actually knew, Big Pine and Summerland. Desmond only knew because Shaun lived there.

“Mile marker twenty-seven,” he supplied.

“Oh,” now there was recognition, “Yeah, that is pretty far,” she agreed.

Thankfully he was saved when Shaun appeared. “Des,” he said leaning down to be heard, “I think you should go outside.”

“Huh, why?”

“Some guys are touching your bike-

Desmond was up and walking away before Shaun had even finished. The mix would play on its own without him needing to touch it. He didn’t have to look back to see the disappointed and annoyed look on Maria’s face. Thank god for Shaun. And if someone was messing with his bike they better be praying to god or he was going to fuck them up. No one touched his baby!

He went out to the front balcony and true to what Shaun had said there were some guys gathered around his bike and some… _random bitch_ ** _sitting on_** ** _her_**. Desmond was going to kill someone. “HEY!” he yelled, “Get the fuck off my bike!” and he ran down the stairs, amazingly clear even a bit drunk.

“This is yours?” one of the guys asked, some big asshole looking guy. It was that bald guy who’d been trying to hit on Lucy earlier. He was _huge_ too and Desmond felt tiny next to him.

“Yes,” he said bravely. “Now get off,” he snapped at the girl who was so drunk her face was red which contrasted starkly with her dark blonde hair.

“Oh c’mon, we were just having some fun,” another guy said, this one with shoulder length, wavy, black hair.

“Yeah and it’ll be real fun when I make you pay me back to get it fixed if your _fun_ ruins my bike,” he spat.

“I think you need to relax little man,” the bald guy dropped a big hand on his shoulder in a comradic way. Desmond narrowed his eyes at him.

“I think he needs a drink,” said a third, blonde hair, slicked back, blue blue eyes.

“Get the fuck off me,” Desmond batted the big meat hand away, “and get off my bike,” he added, keeping his mind on the track that his bike could get broken if it was laid down. He didn’t have the money to fix her either. He was saving up for something else. Fuck. He didn’t want to deal with this!

“Awww, c’mon man. I think she adds to it,” the black haired boy said and slung a drunken arm over his shoulder. “Pretty bike. Pretty girl. They go together,” he laughed and the others laughed with him. 

“I said get the fuck off me,” Desmond shoved him away. They just laughed again. He went up to the blonde girl, since she nor they, were any help at all. “You need to get off,” he told her firmly hoping she understood him. As it was she was so wasted he didn’t know if she could even hear him.

The big bald asshole grabbed him by the shoulders with both hands, “Don’t be such a damn spoil sport little man,” he joked.

“Oi,” and they turned around. “What are you doing here? Fish food wasn’t invited to this party,” and Desmond had never been more happy in his life to see a group of footballers. That being said he was almost never happy to see them since when he did it had usually involved them picking on him. It was Ezio, several of his closer friends and a good few other guys from the team.

The bald man released Desmond and he almost fell onto his own bike from the force of it. “You got a problem with us being here pretty boy?” he asked.

“Yeah, so fuck off,” Ezio said firmly, arms crossed over his chest to make his already large arms look even larger. “Or I’ll call the cops for trespassing.”

Desmond knew that that threat really shouldn’t have been as big a deal as it was. Like… why would Ezio call the cops bringing them to a party full of underage kids drinking? Clearly that made no sense. But, the others, who were obviously too drunk to realize that Ezio’s threat held no water, looked a bit worried. Some part of Desmond’s brain that was still functioning fit the pieces together properly. Ezio had called them fish food and he honestly didn’t recognize any of the guys here. So they were probably Marathoners. What the fuck were they doing here all the way down at Shark Key? Did they really come all this way just to crash a party? Must have.

The black haired boy sneered at Ezio, “Fine. Sibrand, get my sister,” he ordered and turned away, stalking away as best he could while not walking a crooked line.

“See you next week,” the bald one said and bared his teeth at them before following after as the blonde with the slicked back hair picked the girl of Desmond’s bike and basically had to carry her since she was too drunk to walk.

“Fucking assholes,” he heard Ezio say but really wasn’t listening since he’d turned his back on the group and was looking over his baby. He quickly decided she was okay, which was good, because he would have lost his shit and maybe firebombed something if she wasn’t.

“They didn’t fuck it up did they?” he looked up quickly. Altair and Yusuf were standing next to his bike while he sat on it, making sure the black haired boy’s sister hadn’t managed to do anything to her while on it.

“No,” he said.

“Well, that’s good!” Yusuf said, half hanging off Altair with a lazy, friendly grin. “Those guys are assholes.”

“Fish food,” Altair agreed.

Desmond hesitated before saying, “Thanks for showing up.”

“Eh,” Altair shrugged.

“You kidding?” Yusuf almost laughed, “Ezio looked like he was going to have an aneurism when he heard Cesare and his crew had shown up at his house,” and now he did laugh. Altair just disengaged Yusuf from him and the other boy had to stop or he’d fall over. He spread his legs a little to find his balance, and at least didn’t sway. Still, Yusuf was so wasted. “Fucker,” he added and then spit. Desmond cringed, that was so gross he didn’t even know where to begin. At least it was on gravel.

“Well, he’s gone now, so Ezio can chill out,” Altair ended calling over his shoulder. Ezio just flipped a rude gesture at him. Altair sighed, “C’mon Youy, lets go calm down that hot head before he puts his fist through a wall or a window or something,” and he grabbed Yusuf by the arm and pulled him away. Desmond stared after them feeling like he was in the middle of an episode of the Twilight Zone.

The fuck just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like such a traitor since I'm a Marathon graduate =3= Yet I'm making them all a bunch of Templars. God damnit.
> 
> Also writing Maria in here... Maria what are you doing? You are too good for him!
> 
> This story is just becoming "Xazz writes every character and ships all the rare pairs." Fuck I don't know what I'm even doing anymore. Next chapter I'll also have a picture of what Desmond's baby looks like :3


	7. Chapter 7

-8 hours (1 am)

The party was still going on at full force. Desmond didn’t know how it was possible, but it was. He was pretty drunk by now, not ‘I shouldn’t be allowed to be alone right now’, more like ‘I can’t walk a strait line but who cares!’ sort of drunk. It was nice and the music was good and Desmond felt awesome. After the incident with his bike a few hours ago Ezio had offered to keep it in the garage, since unlike cars a motorcycle was a lot more fragile and easily fucked up. Not to mention someone had already messed with it. So he’d put it in Ezio’s garage and been happy with that.

He was now manning the iPod. Clay and Lucy were… somewhere, and he could see Becca writhing on the makeshift dance floor. Shaun was sitting next to him looking grumpy and very much sober. Shaun only danced when he was buzzed. But he wasn’t going to stop his girlfriend from having a good time, as if she’d let him!

Suddenly, Clay was crawling between him and Shaun. “Clay! What the flying shit, get off,” Shaun yelled and tried shoving Clay away. He just fell right into Desmond’s lap.

“Dude, dude,” he got real close to Desmond’s face and had it been anyone else _but_ Clay it would have been uncomfortable. “I organized a truth or dare game. You’re coming.”

“I am?”

“Yes. You are,” and then he rolled off Desmond and onto the floor with a bang. “Ow,” and then he was on his feet. “C’mon,” he grabbed Desmond up to his feet.

“Where are you two idiots going?”

“Truth or dare, no DDs allowed though, it involves shots,” Clay said wickedly.

“Wonderful, as if I’d want to play that stupid game with you Neanderthals anyway,” Shaun rolled his eyes.

“Exactly, so man the music. Not even you can screw it up,” and he ruffled Shaun’s hair, which had remained perfectly styled all night till then. Even as Shaun yelled after then Clay pulled Desmond away and downstairs.

The room under the house was much quieter, though they could still hear the music pounding away. There was a gaggle of students down there including Lucy, who they sat on either side of. Desmond was sort of lost on what was going on but he listened when Ezio was telling everyone the rules. If you were picked you could do truth or dare. If you picked dare you had to do it, or you had to take a double shot. Truth you had to answer truthfully and if someone called you on your shit you had to take a double shot.

Predictably, Ezio started. He picked some girl named Haley and Desmond only paid half attention after that. Some people had good dares, like daring some guy named Mark to do a hand stand, and others were stupid, like chug a bottle of beer. Desmond got dared to drive his motorcycle, he took the double shot for that one after Lucy elbowed him in the ribs. There were some truths too, like who’d you’d lost your virginity to, if you’d ever stolen anything, why did you break up with such and such. He saw Clay soaking in that stuff and all the rest of it too honestly. His friend was so god damn weird.

“Desmond,” Ezio proclaimed and he started. “Truth or dare?”

He could go for truth, but he didn’t want to tell any of these assholes actual personal information. He could handle some more booze if it came to it though. “Dare,” he said.

Ezio looked practically _gleeful_. Weirdo. “I dare you to…” he paused, as though thinking, “Kiss Clay,” oh, imaginative, “with tongue,” pulling out all the stops.

Desmond leaned around Lucy to look at Clay. Clay was looking back and Lucy was looking at the both of them. “You mind?” he asked his friend.

“Better then drinking that five dollar vodka,” Clay declared and they kissed without further preamble or even looking uncomfortable about it. It probably _should_ have been weird. But it wasn’t. They’d gone out for about a week as freshmen before deciding it would be better to just be friends. He let Clay slip his tongue into his mouth for a moment before they pulled away, the dare complete. Desmond forgot what a good kisser Clay was and his drunken mind contemplated asking Clay about being friends with benefits. Not sex benefits, but kissing benefits cause he wouldn’t be able to look at Clay if they actually fucked. It’d be too weird. Lucy’s face when he checked was _bright_ red, though not from embarrassment. The rest of the players were quiet, staring. Were they surprised? Or were they weirdly turned on by two guys (guy friends at that) kissing? “Wow, weirdos,” Clay declared, breaking the silence and gave Desmond a wink. At least one of them was saying what they were both thinking. But then Clay always was better at that then Desmond.

Desmond wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “Okay, my turn,” he said and rubbed his hands on his knees. “Caterina,” he said to the red headed senior, “Truth or dare?”

“I don’t think I could follow that one up,” she laughed. “Truth.”

Damn. Desmond was better with dares. He had to think now. “If you had to date any girl in the school, who would it be, and why?”

“What’re you my history teacher?” Caterina teased, the others laughed.

“Just answer the question,” Desmond muttered.

“Hmmm,” she thought for a moment, “Probably Thorpe,” she said at last. “Cause she’s more of a badass then any of you boys,” he said fiercely. No one even bothered to tell her otherwise. Desmond didn’t know who Thorpe was, but if Caterina said she was a badass, she probably was. “Good enough?” Desmond nodded. “Okay, now I’m going to pick— Lucy,” she smiled sweetly at the blonde girl. “Truth or dare?”

“Uh… truth,” she said carefully.

“How turned on were you just then watching Clay and Desmond kiss?”

Lucy didn’t answer, she just stared at Caterina with a fractured smile. Desmond was looking up at her from where he was leaning on his bent knees and knew Clay was eyeing her too. After a second she cleared her throat, “I think I’ll take the shot,” she said, though that itself was as damning as any actual confession. Caterina didn’t push though and Ezio poured Lucy her shot, which she knocked back with a face. “Uhg, that stuff is rough,” she said, face a bit pinched. “I don’t want to go, I’m going to give my turn to Clay.”

“Excellent!” Clay said cheerfully, rocking backwards and forwards a bit where he sat. “I’m going to piiiiiiiick— Jason. Truth or dare.”

“Dare, ya’ll are pussies-

“Take off all your clothes,” Clay chirped before the guy could even finish.

“I-I’ll take the shot,” he stammered. Clay chuckled as the other boy shot the vodka.

“Dude, what the hell?” Desmond said from around Lucy’s back as Jason picked someone else.

“What? He’s good looking, and he’s _always_ bragging about how big his dick is.”

Desmond gave a disgusting snort. “Really Clay,” Lucy sighed.

“What? Not like he did it,” Clay made a face. Desmond rolled his eyes at his friend before focusing back on the game. It lasted a while longer and Desmond ended up doing another shot for refusing to give up who he’d lost his virginity to and the circumstances behind it.

After that Desmond stood, wobbling a little. “Ditching out on us?” someone asked him.

“As much fun as I’m having with you alcoholics, I need to go piss,” and without further explanation left the downstairs room and went back up to the first floor. There was some weird slow song playing, but no one seemed to mind as there were quite a few couples on the dance floor. Desmond by passed them and went to find the bathroom.

He found one on that floor but it was locked. Not only that but once he realized what he was hearing he realized someone was having sex inside. Oh wow fucking gross. Still, he had to go piss really badly. There were no other bathrooms on the first floor so eventually he ventured to the second, which was marked as off-limits. Still, no one saw him as he went upstairs.

He’d never been so happy to see a toilet in his life. It occurred to him only once he was in the bathroom that he could have just taken a leak outside. His drunk brain wasn’t the best at having rational thoughts though. He shook and zipped himself back up, washing his hands before stumbling back out into the dim hall; and right into someone.

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” Desmond said quickly, and he knew his speech was slurred, though not significantly.

“That’s okay,” they said but he couldn’t quite make out who it was as the lights were off on the top floor (a deterrent probably) and he’d been so focused on finding a bathroom he hadn’t looked for a light switch so the only light came from downstairs and the stairs. Still it was definitely a guy (as if the voice didn’t give it away Einstein) with some strong arms, since he’d basically caught Desmond when he almost crumpled after running into him. What was he doing up here? “I didn’t know you swung that way Miles,” they added, hands on him, though more so he didn’t fall over, which in this disorientating light was a very real possibility.

“Swing?” he asked stupidly.

They chuckled, “Yeah,” and his thumb came up to touch his mouth. _Oh_. Fingers were quickly traded for lips and while Desmond wasn’t quite sure who he was kissing _damn_ they had a wicked mouth. He found himself pushed up against the wall and his arms went around the other boy’s shoulders as they pushed their tongue into his mouth.The other guy slid a hand up his flank and pushed his knee between Desmond’s legs. Oh, okay. This was… kinda awesome actually. Hadn’t he just been thinking it would be awesome to do some kissing? Or had that been a while ago after that dumb dare with Clay? He couldn’t remember and time sort of was hazy at this time. Either way he wasn’t complaining.

He gasped when they broke apart for more then just a chance to suck in a fresh breathe and groaned a little when he started to kiss and suck on his neck and grabbed at his back. His mouth moved lower and lower, leaving kisses and fade-able red marks on his neck and across his collar bone before moving back up and taking possession of Desmond’s mouth again. Desmond sagged against the wall, drunk and pliant and then suddenly horny when the boy grabbed his crotch. “How’s you like to come home with me?” he asked with a silky tone in Desmond’s ear and squeezed him through his jeans.

“Fuck yes,” Desmond said, forgetting all about his stance on one-night stands. He was drunk and this guy was _amazing_ and right now all he wanted was to be somewhere flat and preferably horizontal and see if this guy’s wicked mouth was as good other places as it was on his neck.

They grinned and nuzzled into his neck, “I was hoping you’d say that,” and then took a step back. “I’ll call a cab. Meet me downstairs,” and then he was gone. Desmond stared at where he’d just been, still a bit out of breathe and now with a it of a hard on. _Wow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, this is what Desmond's [bike](http://tinyurl.com/bohwzlb) looks like, in case anyone is interested :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t never say I don’t love you and give you things. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
> 
> Porn start to finish, I would not suggest reading while at work or school or anywhere someone could read over your shoulder…

-7 hours

He wasn’t quite sure where he was. But he figured that was okay as the boy, who he still didn’t know, unlocked the front door of their house and they stumbled inside. The cab ride had been interesting and very… hands on. He couldn’t say he was complaining.

Inside it was cool, a relief even from the short time in the hot Floridian night. It was like outside the sun had never gone down and it was still hot as hell out there. A pair of hands came onto his hips as he tried to figure out where he was, or what the place looked like. No good however, he was too drunk. “You need to be quiet,” the Boy told him, “my gramps is asleep.”

“Okay,” he nodded, and then he was being pushed from behind down a hall and up some stairs and down another hall. Finally, fucking _finally_ , they made it to a bedroom. “Can we get naked now?” he said cause he’d lost his filter a while ago.

“Yes,” the Boy groaned, sounding like he wanted to do nothing but.

He pushed the Boy back into the door, kissing him and their hands fumbled at their belts and zippers, tugging drunkenly at their clothes. The Boy was wearing a buttoned shirt and it was seriously too damn complicated to undo and kiss at the same time. He pulled back and undid his shirt, under it he was deeply tan from being out in the sun. As he undid his shirt he heard a thud. Oh that was his pants. Okay. 

Desmond stumbled back slightly when he was pushed backwards, as he was still actually in his pants, though they were just around his ankles now. He actually almost fell but again the Boy caught him and after a second he just stepped out of his pants and shoes. As soon as he was he was being pushed back again and it felt like a long way to the bed. Finally though the back of his knees bumped against it and he sat. The Boy tugged off his shirt before shrugging off his own.

“I am lucky tonight,” Desmond heard himself say, looking up at him. The Boy chuckled, a dark, pleasant noise. He was so fucking hot it should have been a sin with a flat stomach, lean and skinnier then him, he could almost count the Boy’s ribs and there was some hair on his chest and down the center of his stomach vanishing below the line of his pants. He was still in his pants and all Desmond could think was ‘he needs to be naked right now.’ The Boy ran his hands through his hair, messing it up, as he tugged at the button of his jeans. Then they were sliding off his hips and pooling on the floor as he stepped out of them and his shoes.

His back found the bed spread and the Boy straddled his lap and kissed him again, deeply, his tongue taking possession of Desmond’s mouth. He moaned shamelessly and raked his fingers down the Boy’s flanks, gasping when the Boy moved to kiss and suck on his neck. Desmond ran his hands through his hair, down his back and across his shoulders, rolling his hips upwards needing more then just press, needing friction. The Boy groaned into his shoulder and returned the favor before sitting up and rolling off him.

Desmond tugged off more of his clothes, socks being lost somewhere beyond the edge of the bed, he didn’t care. He’d only just gotten them off before grabbing the Boy, who was doing much the same, and pushing him further onto the bed, settling between his legs. 

They pushed against each other, all lips and mouths and grasping hands against skin that made the air feel especially cold on his skin. They were both trying to get the other down, though he saw the Boy mirroring his own grin, neither of them would be disappointed with however this first part ended.

Eventually he got the Boy pinned, grasping his wrists by the side of his head, legs tangled up together so he was straddling one thigh. They were both panting a little and he enjoyed watching the Boy just pant, drawing in lungfuls of air and look way too fucking amazing doing so. He grinned a mischievous grin and leaned down, almost kissing him, but then pulling away.

The Boy groaned, “Oh for fucks sake Miles,” he huffed and his hands flexed before becoming fists. Desmond licked his lips before actually kissing him. The Boys hands flexed again and pushed his tongue into Desmond’s mouth. They held there until they couldn’t breathe and even then Desmond was pretty sure breathing was vastly over rated. He nipped at the Boy’s throat, kissing down his skin and let go of his wrists because his hands became more interested in his hips. The Boy rolled his hips, he responded in like as his nose and lips slid down the skin of his chest and he wrapped his lips around one of his nipples. It got him a grunt like a whine.

His brain was a steady interchanging mantra of ‘I want to fuck this kid’ and ‘I want this kid to fuck me’, he really didn’t care at this point and from the way the Boy was moving under him he was clear he didn’t either. They both just _needed_ it, whatever it was. It was driving him fucking crazy.

When he was suddenly grabbed and flipped over he had to close his eyes. Wow that was not the funnest thing in the world, not drunk anyway, definitely not drunk. He didn’t feel sick, just dizzy. Lips pressed to his but he was slow to respond and then they were gone and they crawled down his body like some sort of strange animal and his eyes flicked open and he looked down when he felt a gentle prodding on his crotch. He groaned, loudly. “Shhh,” the Boy shushed him, “Don’t be so loud.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t be if you gave me a reason to shove my fist in my mouth,” Desmond said, he wasn’t even sure if he was making any sense. He probably wasn’t.

“Mmm, I’ll put something else in your mouth,” the Boy promised lowly, but it was obvious a promise for later. Right now he was more interested in pressing his face into the inside of Desmond’s thigh or into the hollow of his pelvic bone. He grit his teeth wanting something else to happen but having a feeling that asking for it would just make him make him wait longer. Eventually he did get what he wanted, a hot, wet, mouth pressing against the beginning of his erection through his briefs. He groaned, softer this time as the Boy mouthed him through his underwear, making his hips twitch. 

He was eternally grateful when hands came up to his hips and pulled down his briefs. His legs bent at slightly awkward angles to manage getting them off, as the Boy didn’t want to sit up, but eventually they were shoved off the edge of the bed with the rest of his clothes. He sighed, deeply, when the Boy finally took him into his mouth. He’d been so right, this Boy’s wicked mouth was just as good on his lips as it was on his cock. He shifted a little, nearly a squirm, riding the wave of pleasure from the pit of his stomach.

The problem with drunken one night stands, especially when you were as drunk as the both of them, was that you tended to get whiskey dick. This time was no different and Desmond had a seriously hard time actually getting and maintaining a full erection. The Boy didn’t seem to mind though, head head smoothly moving up and down on his cock, seemingly enjoying that nearly as much as Desmond was receiving it. He’d never actually thought he’d meet a guy who really liked giving head, he sort of assumed they were myths, but yeah, totally blew that stupid thought right out of the water.

Long after his jaw should have started to hurt the Boy finally lifted his mouth off of him and he missed it almost immediately. The Boy kissed his way up the line of his stomach and chest, stopping to give one of his nipples a lick before settling easily between his legs and kissing him. It was a messy thing and Desmond hooked his legs around his thighs, pushing upwards.

“I’d really like it if you’d fuck me,” Desmond breathed when they were apart for more then enough time to snatch a lungful of air.

“And I would really like to,” the Boy said, lips a ghost along his jaw and damn that was distracting, “But I don’t think any fucking is going to happen tonight though.”

“Whiskey dick?”

“Even though I hate whiskey,” and Desmond snorted grossly, covering his mouth. The line wasn’t _that_ funny, but drunk it was _hilarious_. The Boy grinned widely, showing off white teeth.

Once Desmond had gotten ahold of himself he said, “Yeah well, I really liked what you were doing with your mouth.”

“Mmmm,” the Boy thumbed across his nipple. “I’d like to see what your mouth could do,” he smirked, devious and playful.

Desmond flipped them over, a slower motion then the previous time, which was more helpful for his head honestly since he really didn’t want to be dizzy again, definitely not when he was about to go down on a guy. He kissed his lips, briefly before sliding down his body, licking, kissing, and gently bit on the curve of his hip bone. He hated and smelled like sweat and Desmond wanted to devour him. He’d have to rethink his agenda on one night stands after this.

He nuzzled against the bulge in the Boy’s underwear, drawing his tongue several times along the length before maneuvering his legs out of them. It was a lot less complicated then trying to get Desmond out of his since he was willing to sit up long enough. They ended up being flicked across the room by the Boys foot and Desmond caught he ankle before he could put it back down. He pressed a kiss into the inside of his ankle and then trailed a line of them up his leg. “Fuck!” the Boy suddenly yelped when he brushed his lips against the inside of his knee, slightly under it, and he jerked his leg away.

Desmond eyed him, suddenly delighted, “Oh, you’re ticklish,” he said.

“Don’t even think about it Miles,” he growled, eyes flashing, though he couldn’t recall the color they were.

“Or you’ll what?” he teased, grin broad and mischievous. He slipped his hand back under his knee, barely grazing his skin. The Boy twitched and squirmed out of reach. He followed and in a few seconds it’d fallen into something like a grappling match. He pulled, the Boy pushed, and he tried to get the Boy under him again. The motions passed in a harsh whirl of too much movement and blurred vision that almost made him sick. The growls and hard won little bubbles of giggle-like laughter he won from the Boy mare then made him ignore anything else. He liked his laugh, the way he tried to keep it quiet and how he seemed to refuse to acknowledge that he was ticklish.

Eventually he did get the Boy under him again, they were panting again and there was more sweat on the Boy’s chest, and on his own as well, his cheeks were colored and his lips were curled in a smile, a bit shit eating. He pressed his mouth to his needfully and reached down to stroke the Boy, who groaned against his mouth and Desmond managed to wriggle his tongue into the other boy’s mouth. He still tasted a bit like booze. Then his hand left his cock and slid gently against skin _just so_ , the Boy bit his upper lip when he jolted, and shoved him. “You’re an ass,” the Boy informed him. Desmond laughed at him, softly and checked his upper lip, which hurt from where the Boy had bitten it. It hurt a little but it didn’t come away bloody. The Boy was frowning at him, and he gave him a chaste kiss to apologize before going down on him to apologize further.

The Boy groaned when Desmond ran his tongue along his length. A hand shifted through his hair, undemanding, simply there, and he took the Boy’s cock in his mouth. He was only half hard and after a minute he realized he probably wasn’t going to get any harder, or if he did he wouldn’t keep it. Fucking whiskey dick.

Unlike the Boy, who clearly enjoyed it, Desmond was not the biggest fan of giving head. It hurt his jaw, even though the Boy wasn’t much bigger then average and definitely not the biggest guy he’d ever sucked off. He also had a really terrible gag reflex, which tended to make it hard to give head as just touching the back of his tongue tended to make him start to gag. Still, he liked watching the receiver squirm and that’s what kept him down there because _fuck_ did this kid wriggle. In a good way though. He really wished he wasn’t so drunk now because if he moved like this just from getting blow he really wanted to see what he did if Desmond fucked him. He sucked on the head of the Boy’s cock, looking back down at what he was doing, thinking that, that he’d really like to fuck this kid. A little voice in the back of his head said that come the morning he was going to not think this and would beat himself up over this. He told that voice to kindly shut the fuck up he was busy and didn’t have time for sober or rational thoughts.

Finally he had to stop. The Boy sighed, long and deep and blissed out, one hand petting his hair, the other on the bed spread, clenching and unclenching. Desmond didn’t move from where he was though, feet half hanging off the bed from where he was laying between his legs. He rested his head against his thigh, staring at the Boy. Lying there he realized that they were actually in the dark, it was the first time he’d noticed, though not total darkness, as there was light coming from a string of blue pipe lights that framed the head board like some sort of child’s night light, enough to see by in the pitch darkness, but not enough to wake you. There was also light coming in from around the blinds on the window.

He had no brain to mouth filter. “Wow.” The Boy snorted, face twisting into an amused smile that squeezed his eyes closed a little. He pressed his face briefly into the Boy’s thigh before saying, still without a filter, “I wish I was not so drunk right now. Cause I really want to fuck you.”

“I thought you wanted me to fuck you,” the Boy said, amused.

“Both,” he droned, nibbling on the flesh of his thigh a little. The boy gave a soft, dry, chuckle. He felt insanely heavy as he lifted himself up on his arms and pulled himself forward. He was getting tired, seriously tired. He dropped a kiss onto the boy’s mouth and it turned deep without his intention and the Boy wound his arms around his neck, legs curling around the back of his knees so they overlapped and his legs rested between Desmond’s.

“I think,” the Boy said and licked his lips, not his lips, Desmond’s lips, it made him light headed in a good way, this guy’s fucking _mouth_ , “that we’re done?” It was only a bit of a question. As it was neither of them could get it up enough to actually come but they weren’t unsatisfied either. Desmond had never had sex in his life where he hadn’t come and felt like he was okay with it, even if afterwards and he went and finished himself because the sex had sucked so much he hadn’t during it he didn’t usually think of sex without it. But he was okay with this. Maybe it was the booze talking. Maybe not, he’d just be awake far longer then he wanted to be if he was dead set on finishing. Since even getting head he hadn’t gotten hard, not all the way, and he wasn’t wasted enough to not know that the Boy gave fucking _great_ head.

“I think,” Desmond agreed, with a slight groan and rolled off him and next to him. He yawned and covered his mouth, somehow he knew that if he turned his head he’d be able to see the electric clock on the bed table, but he doubted he’d be able to read it. The air was cool again, he could finally focus on the temperature against his skin, and he got a few goosbumps before he was being tugged under covers. “Wow, you aren’t making me leave,” he said, wouldn’t have been the first time he got kicked out after sex.

“Your bike is at Ezio’s,” the Boy grumbled, sounding as tired as him. “And you’re drunk. I’m not that much of an asshole,” he said. Desmond didn’t complain, the bed was big, and soft. He stared up at the ceiling and his eyelids grew heavy before slipping shut.

He slept.


	9. Chapter 9

>1 hour

Desmond was at one of the many corner, Cuban run, deli and markets. He’d been walking a bit and found it and needed food and water. So he’d bought a big bottle of water and a cheese bread. As the cheese bread was cooking he chugged the water and tried not to look at the windows.

After the initial adrenaline of leaving Altair’s house had passed he realized how much he fucking hated the sun. He was hung over, but could function, though function was subjective at this point. He checked his phone and saw he’d missed a call from his mom earlier this morning. His parents knew he’d been going to a party and that Shaun was driving, his mom liked Shaun and knew he’d get her boy home safe. But he hadn’t come home last night. So she was checking in on him, though it wouldn’t be the first night he’d just crashed at Clay’s after a party since he lived in Key West, not where he even was, or fuck where Desmond even lived. It was easier and faster to just go to Clay’s after parties or movies, and sleep it off. Her mom wasn’t the biggest fan of Clay, but at least he didn’t try to get Desmond into drugs.

So he stepped to the side of the store, he could smell his cheese bread and his stomach rumbled hungrily, and called his mom. She picked up on the second ring. “Hey baby,” she said into the receiver.

“Hey ma,” he said back, squinting in the light, “I’m not dead. This is not a call from the great beyond.”

She laughed, he loved making her laugh, “Have fun last night?”

“Tons. My phones ganna die though and I’m waiting for a call from Clay and I-

“Mirda, cheese bread,” the Cuban lady behind the counter called, her accent so awful he almost couldn’t understand her. 

He moved over to saying, “I’ll be home soon.”

“Okay baby, be safe.”

“I will,” and he paid for the water and cheese bread with cash as he hung up. He got a text while waiting for his change. ‘Outside.’ Thank god. He thanked the woman, who ignored him, and went outside. Clay’s car was waiting against the street and his friend leaned over to unlock the door for him as he shoved some of the flat cheese bread into his mouth. It tasted like heaven. He slid into the passenger seat. “How’d you find me?” Desmond asked around his food.

“I could smell the shame on you from a mile away,” Clay said, he glowered at his friend who just grinned widely at him. “I was passing by and saw you in the window, duh,” he said and put the car into drive only once Desmond had put on his belt. “So where to?”

“I need to get my bike,” Desmond said and rubbed his face.

“So Ezio’s?”

“Yeah,” he grumbled and took another bite of his butter and cheese heaven. He had to hand it to the Cubans, their food was fucking amazing. “So, you know what happened to me-

“Hardly-

He didn’t even stop talking, “How’d you end up?”

“Got drunk, made an idiot of myself, Shaun shoved me in his car and took me home. I think other then you he’s the only one who got laid.”

“Lucky git,” Desmond muttered.

“What?”

“What?”

“What?” Clay gave him a look.

“What?” Desmond gave him a slightly bewildered one back as his teeth dug into the bread.

“What are we even talking about?’

“Fuck if I know.”

“Also that’s not your shirt.”

“What?” he’d said that word way too much in the past fifteen seconds.

“That shirt you're wearing, it isn’t yours. Not the one you were wearing last night at least.”

Desmond looked down. He was wearing a buttoned shirt. “Oh fuck,” he muttered.

“Is that Altair’s-

“Shut up Clay!” he yelled. Clay just laughed, loud and obnoxiously.

“That is so Altair’s shirt! Oh my god Desmond you fucking dope,” and he smacked the steering wheel as they waited for the light to get on US1.

“Shit,” Desmond said looking at the shirt, it was a bit small on him too which was the weird part, but bigger shouldered. How the fuck? “Fuck,” he said again.

“Wanna go back and give it to him?”

“Fuck no!”Desmond yelled and Clay just laughed harder. A car beeped at them as the light was green and Clay turned right onto US1 to head off Stock Island.

“Well, at least now it doesn’t look like you’re going back to Ezio’s in the same clothes,” Clay said helpfully, stopping laughing so he could focus on driving.

“Guuuh,” Desmond groaned and looked at his cheese bread.He decided he didn’t want to talk anymore and just wanted to eat his feelings. He shoved the cheese bread into his mouth without further comment.

Clay didn’t speak again till they were on Boca Chica. “So,” he started. “Wanna talk about it.”

“No. Fuck you,” Desmond grumbled.

Clay smirked widely, “Aw, c’mon buddy, what’s an embarrassing one night stand story between friends?” he asked cheerfully. “You said he was good. He give it to ya?”

“No,” he muttered.

“Oh? I didn’t know Altair was like that. So you-

“No,” Desmond did _not_ want to have this conversation. The fact that Clay could do so with such nonchalance was creepy as all fuck too.

Clay eyed him as they passed the adult store that was one of the only buildings on the Key other then the Naval base where Desmond lived and Rockland Key near the bridge that connected Boca Chica to Big Coppitt. “You did get laid last night didn’t you?” he asked.

Desmond glowered at him, “You’re not going to be happy till I tell you are you?”

“Fuck no,” he said cheerfully. “So just make it painless and tell me on your own, cause you know I’m not above ripping out teeth.”

Desmond crammed the last bite of his cheese bread into his mouth as they crossed the bridge onto Big Coppitt. “Fine,” he said, crumpling the bag his bread had been in and dropping it onto the floor of Clay’s car. “We were both really drunk, neither of us could get it up. I got some really good head out of the deal and learned that Altair’s ticklish. The end.”

Clay didn’t say anything, but just watched the road. They passed the Circle K in silence, there were several boats there, filling up for a day on the water. “That’s it?” Clay asked as they came up on Shark Key.

“I’m not giving you the nitty gritty so you can save your breathe,” Desmond huffed. “Fuck you should really worry about your own sex life and not other people’s Clay.”

“Yeah see I would, but I don’t have one,” he said as they turned onto the long and narrow Key.

Desmond squinted at him, “You’re fucking dumb,” he said.

“Hey!”

“You get a kiss last night? At least?”

“The only person I kissed last night was you, Dessy buddy.”

Desmond groaned, “Man, we’re going to have to have a talk,” he said.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Clay rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious. We’re having a talk. Lunch at El Seboney, got it?”

“Mmm, you paying?”

“No, you can pay for your own food, I’m not your boyfriend.”

“Too bad,” Clay sighed. Desmond eyed him, “What? Don’t look at me like that,” he made a face at Desmond who made a face right back, one slightly pinched and skeptical. “You’re good boyfriend material,” he shrugged.

“So are you.”

“So why aren’t we dating?” Clay asked, pulling into Ezio’s driveway.

“You know why,” Desmond said as he put the car in park. “Cause you drive me fucking _insane_ ,” and Clay laughed. “And cause you’re my best bud and the last thing I want is to actually see you naked,” he made another face. Clay grinned. “Now wait here till I get my bike keys and helmet,” he said and slipped out of the car as Clay nodded.

He padded up the stairs to the first floor and knocked. The scary black haired man answered, his hair pulled back into a tiny bottle brush pony tail. Federico’s boyfriend, Vi, short for something no doubt. “Hey,” Desmond said.

“Can I help you?” he asked, he was surprisingly polite actually. That wasn’t how he remembered it last night.

“Uh, I came to get my keys and helmet for my motorcycle,” he said, “it’s down in the garage.”

“Okay, come in,” he opened the door a little wider. The man closed the door, “Your helmet’s in the closet, I’ll go get the keys,” he said and left him in the foyer. Desmond stepped over to the closet and opened it.

“Uh…” he stared at the kid who was actually _sleeping_ in the closet. He leaned down, grabbed his helmet and then softly closed the door. He turned back around as Vi was coming back.

“I think these are them?” he asked, holding the round key out to him with the star key chain on it.

“Yeah, that’s it. Thanks,” Vi was a lot less scary today actually. Maybe he’d just gotten some last night. Damn it seemed like everyone except him and Clay did last night. He took his key back, “Also, there is someone sleeping in the closet there.”

Vi’s eyes got sharp, “Oh. Thank you I’ll take care of it,” Desmond _so_ did not want to know what that meant at all. “I’ll open the garage for you,” he added.

“Yeah, thanks,” and then was going for the door. Vi pressed a button by the door as he left and closed the door after him. Below the garage door was rattling open as he pounded down the stairs. From the front seat Clay waved at him as he went into the garage, pulling on his helmet and clipping it into place. He wheeled his baby out of the garage and wondered where his sun glasses were. Damn he’d have to buy _another_ new pair. Once she was in the middle of the driveway he threw his leg over her and sat comfortably before leaning down and fitting the key in. She ticked three times before rumbling into life. He gave a thumbs up to Clay who did in turn and pulled out of the driveway.

Before kicking up the kick stand he sent Clay a text with the last juice of his battery, ‘el Seb at noon. Be there or I am ganna beat your skinny white ass.’ Then he kicked the kick stand up and fiddled with his leather jacket a second before sending her as quietly as possible out of the driveway. As soon as he hit pavement he gunned it, switching up into second gear with a roar and shot down the street, wind whipping in his face. He passed Clay in his beach cruiser, and his friend honked after him. There were no cars when he reached the stop sign at the end of the road and turned right onto US1, back to Boca Chica.

—

It was a simple matter in getting home, flashing his ID to get past the guards and onto the base. He took a few turns and then was pulling into the drive. The cutting of the engine made everything sound suddenly so quiet. 

With a groan he got off his bike. He needed a shower and when they got to El Seboney he was getting a strong cup of Cuban coffee. The door was locked, his parents weren’t home. He unlocked the front door and shoved it open.

The house was military issue for the most part, though his mom had since painted the walls blue- Sea Sky Blue. Or some other sort of stupid name- and saved them from the bland military white and cream walls that really he was used to by now anyway, It happened when you were a military brat, you tended to get used to boring white and beige walls. There was a note on the fridge, ‘Gone to Marathon’. He wrinkled his nose. Why the fuck did they go to Marathon? Friends maybe, or something to do with the base there, something like that.

But that meant he had the house to himself, which was always good. He hung his jacket up in his room and took off his clothes, and Altair’s shirt. He held the shirt up and frowned at it before tossing it into the hamper. He’d give it back, maybe, if he ever talked to Altair again. As it was it looking like a ‘I don’t even want to know you exist let alone talk to you’ sort of meeting last night. He went and took a shower wondering if he could just drown himself instead of having to face Monday.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, the word of the day iiiiis: Bromance! Brought to you by the letter B!

3 hours

El Siboney was always busy, _always_. It was one of the more popular restaurants on the island, hell, one of the more popular ones in the entire Lower Keys. The deco inside was yellow with Indian chiefs and generic Cuban paraphernalia and plastic red lands and knick knack. Today was no different, especially on a weekend, and especially at noon, but the fact that it was packed was sort of a good thing.

Desmond got there before Clay, parking down the block, as the tiny lot ( _lot,_ ha! it was barely street space) was full, though there wasn’t a line out the door. He could smell the roasted, pulled pork from down the street as he walked towards the squat building that was bigger on the inside, like the T.A.R.D.I.S. There was a bit group in front of him, waiting just inside the door but he wriggled through, the sound of people talking and the scrape of cutlery on plates masking most other noises. The place wasn’t cool, but it wasn’t hot like outside either and was very much still below body temperature, making it comfortable enough. 

He got the attention of the girl behind the girl the low slung counter as he was making up a tray of imported Mexican beers by rapping on the plastic covering. She gave him a slight questioning look, “Two,” he said to be heard over the din. She nodded and then was gone from behind the counter. She returned a moment later though and showed Desmond to one of the small tables to the left of the door by the small low set bar where a few haggard Mexicans were devouring their food with silent prejudice.

The waiter showed up before Clay, he was big, Cuban, and had slicked back black hair, his red shirt a bit tight across his chest. “What can I get you?” he asked and set down two waters in thick plastic, red, cups, his English good, so he was Conch, not a migrant or a refugee.

“I’ll have a Coke, I dunno what he wants,” he nodded at the empty seat. His waiter nodded and was gone. Desmond didn’t even pick up the menu, he knew the entire thing front and back by now, as it was a favorite for their group of friends as it was fast, cheap and amazing. The waiter came with his Coke and a small basket of buttered, pressed, Cuban bread, and asked if he wanted to order. As he did a flicker of yellow caught the edge of Desmond’s eye and Clay was sliding into the seat opposite him.

“Can I get a Sprite,” Clay piped up and when the waiter left he chugged his water. He looked haggard, but not hung over. That had been earlier.

“Hello to you too,” Desmond said as Clay grabbed some of the bread and crammed it into his mouth. Like Desmond he didn’t bother with the menu, he knew it front to back as well and between the four of them they’d tried just about everything in the last four years.

“Sorry I just… I just got fucking chewed out by my dad, and that was after getting off the phone with Lucy. Did you know she’s pissed at me?” he looked confused, maybe a bit hurt, and a lot scared.

“Why’d your dad chew you out?”

“Cause I didn’t get home till like three this morning,” he laughed hollowly. “He was _pissed_ , though I wasn’t too drunk. Apparently a bit after you left to piss and never come back I passed out in Lucy’s lap,” well that explained why she was probably angry. “Next I woke up Shaun was manhandling me into the back of his car. I think, and I’m not sure mind you, but I think I got a face full of boob from that.”

“Lucy’s boobs?” Desmond asked as the waiter brought Clay’s Sprite and filled both their waters.

Clay didn’t answer cause he was ordering. “I’ll have the number two,” the waiter nodded.

Desmond gave his friend a leery look then gave the waiter his order, “And I’ll have the number three, and the fried yucca.” Their waiter nodded and left. “Did you face plant into Lucy’s tits Clay?”

“I… think so? Becca was in the front. Fuck I _do not_ remember, I was just fucking _gone_ at that point.”

“So what was she pissed about? You all up in her cleavage?” he would not put it past her honestly.

Clay disassembled some of the bread as he said, “You know, I’m not entirely sure. She just called me, pissed, and said I was a terrible person and I needed to get my priorities strait and blah blah blah, you know how she can get.”

Desmond nodded, he did indeed know how Lucy could get. He loved her to death, she was his friend after all, but she could be like Shaun: scary, intense, and slightly over the top. Lucy could go into melt down mode when she acted like the world was going to end at all times. But he supposed with a stepdad like the one she had he couldn’t really be surprised. 

“You got any idea?” Clay asked, finishing off his second cup of water.

“Yeah, several,” he said, giving his friend a look.

“Welp, I’m all ears,” he said and propped his chin on his fists looking at Desmond with all the attention of a five year old to super hero cartoons.

“Well, you have been giving her weird mixed messages lately,” he said.

“I what?” he sat up strait, clearly confused. “You’re ganna have to run that by me again.”

“Well, you hang out with her nearly as much as me, you’re always flirting with her-

“Hey!” Clay looked indignant, “I flirt with everyone,” he said matter-of-factly and Desmond chuckled.

“Then at the party you were all into hanging out with her, you _danced_ with her even. You don’t fucking dance with anyone-

“That’s cause I’m the DJ,” he pointed out.

“Would you let me talk for like… five fucking seconds? Stop butting in,” Desmond snapped, Clay pouted but nodded. “Then you kissed me, cause of that dumb dare, which by the way, she thought was hot.”

“She did?” he asked as if it had never occurred to him, playing with the bread.

Desmond blinked at him, “Are you actually aware of the things that go on with your own friends or are you just totally into everyone else?”

“Well you guys are kinda predictable,” Clay said slowly. “Except this morning when I got a call that my best buddy had just rolled out of bed with-

Desmond clapped his hand over his mouth, “You are not to utter that name in my presence, got it?” he growled. Clay looked _delighted_ but nodded regardless. Desmond took his hand away and wiped it on his pants. “So, that happened, and yes, she liked it, god you need to be _more_ _observant_ — and I never thought I’d have to tell _you_ that since you see the weirdest shit. Like… Yusuf and Rauf, really?”

“It’ll happen!” Clay proclaimed. 

Just then their food appeared, big plates piled high with Cuban cooked pork, yellow rice, plantains and sweet sautéed onions and Clay had a tamale. Little white bowls filled with black beans to the point of nearly over flowing. A smaller plate with Desmond’s fried yucca and a vinegary and onion dipping sauce was placed next to his huge plate. They dropped the current thread of conversation, instead turning towards their lunch.

They both put their plantains in the basket where the bread had been, to eat later. Clay poured the black beans all over his food and cracked open his tamale. Desmond just smushed everything up together in a giant orgy of pulled pork, rice, beans and onions before started to eat. They ate in silence, only bickering a bit over the yucca which Clay tried to steal and Desmond stabbed him with his fork. Clay just looked offended when he did that.

Finally, when they were about half way through their plates, having satisfied their hung over stomachs Desmond started up the conversation again. “Also you fell asleep in her lap-

“Are you still on about this man?” Clay drawled.

“Yes. Yes I am, cause you’re an idiot,” and then he continued, “and then in the car Shaun basically shoves you into her chest. And you go home alone. You were complaining about not getting laid last night, well guess what, I bet Lucy would have taken care of that for you,” and he dipped a stick of yucca into translucent dipping sauce.

Clay played with his mess of a plate, which honestly looked like Desmond’s, even though it had started out a lot more organized but by now had just turned a mess of pork and additions. Then he looked up at Desmond from under his brows, “You really think she’s into me?”

“Are you _blind_?” Desmond asked.

“Uh-

“Don’t answer that,” because Clay would have just gotten lippy with him. “Yes. Yes she’s into you.”

“Yeah but she was into you too,” he pointed out.

“And she knows I am not on the market.”

“So, you’re saying I’m second best?”

“Compared to a gay man, yes. Which means you’re first in line for the actual straight men,” Desmond huffed and shoveled a few more bites of pork and rice into his mouth. “Don’t think of it as ‘second place’. I mean, you’ll never compare to an actual gay guy, girls love us,” and Clay kicked him under the table. He winced, that had hurt. “You’re just at the top of the list for actual, available guys, who wouldn’t be wigged out by lady bits,” he wrinkled his nose a little. It wasn’t like he was squeamish or anything, he just didn’t find them attractive at all. He’d still stare at a girl’s ass, but he was an ass guy, so sue him, and with the trend of boys in baggy pants or awful sports shorts with the boxers hanging out girls were some of the only good looking asses in the entire school really that didn’t horribly offend him as part of the male gender. He immediately thought that Altair always wore fitted pants and he probably-

WOAH! Back up. No. No. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. You are _NOT_ thinking about Altair’s ass. Never. Ever. That ship had sailed and he wasn’t swimming after it.

“You okay?” Clay asked, yanking him back to reality.

“Yes.”

Clay was silent for a second, squinted at him, and then looked waaaaay too fucking smug. “You were justing thinking about _him_ weren’t you?”

“No.”

“Yes you were.”

“No I wasn’t.”

“So was,” he jeered in a little sing song voice.

“We’re here about _your_ love life, not mine,” Desmond growled and moodily scarfed down more Cuban food, starting to feel really full. El Siboney did that though as their portions could be shared by one and a half normal people, or a single bottomless hole that was a teenager’s stomach.

“Riiiight,” Clay said, clipping the T extra hard at the end.

Desmond scowled at him. “So what’re you ganna do about Lucy?”

“Nothing- OW!” Desmond kicked him, hard, under the table. “What the shit was that for?” he demanded.

“You fucking idiot. _Ask her out_ ,” Clay just looked uncomfortable. “My god, are you really that spineless? Cause I’ve seen your porn collection, you like girls.”

Clay didn’t say anything for several moments, instead just eating quietly, as if he could shove enough food in his maw to make Desmond forget the conversation. “What if she says no?” he asked weakly.

Desmond slapped his hand to his forehead. “If you haven’t asked her out by Monday I am disowning you,” he informed his friend.

“Should I ask her dad first?”

There was a long pregnant silence.

“No,” he said eventually.

“But what if she’s that kinda girl who’ll only say yes if daddy says it’s okay?”

“Trust me, the way she was last night, she won’t be.”

“I dunno,” Clay said.

“Just do it you giant pussy,” Desmond huffed.

Clay ate a bit more, “I will, but-

“But? But what? There are no buts here,” Desmond said sternly.

“I will okay, fuck. Buuut you think… maybe I could hear about your night?”

“You are such a weird dude, man,” Desmond told him.

“Oh c’mon I don’t mean like that. I don’t need graphic details, but you got to hear about my drunken debauchery. It’s only fair I get to hear about yours. I mean, we both royally screwed up in the relationship department and-

“No. No we did not,” Desmond put in. “Cause unlike you, nothing’s coming out of my fuck up,” Clay eyed him. “Noth. Ing,” he said pointedly. “You get three questions,” he added.

Clay looked absolutely _thrilled_. “He top or bottom?”

“No idea.”

“What do you mean you have no idea?”

“We were kinda back and forth. At one point we were both ganna do both,” he shrugged. Desmond had no problem doing either.

“How big is he?”

“No idea.”

“What? How the fuck do you not _know_? You had his dick in your mouth!” he whisper yelled.

“That’s four questions,” Desmond said smugly and turned into the remains of his plate.

Clay stared at him, scowling. “That’s a dick thing to do, man,” he said looking put off.

Desmond sighed, “He’s not the biggest guy I’ve ever seen up close, we’ll put it that way. And no he doesn’t have a chode or a little dick. God why do you want to know this shit?”

“Because I like knowing shit,” Clay said proudly.

“That’s it. That was four questions, one more then I promised.

“Oh fuck you.”

“No actually, I’d prefer if you didn’t,” and Clay kicked him lightly. Desmond kicked him back and it quickly turned into a very childish game of almost footsies where they tried to stomp on each other’s feet. It almost came to flinging rice and beans at each other before they stopped and Desmond told the waiter they wanted their check, and that Clay was paying for his own food. Clay just stuck his tongue out at him.

When they left the restaurant Desmond put on his glasses. He’d bought a new pair before coming here because riding around on a motorcycle without some sort of eye protection was just asking for trouble, and eye strain. “So, I held up my end of the bargain,” he said as they walked down the street towards their cars. “You have to ask Lucy out.”

“Yeah, I will,” though he had the tone of someone who would drag his feet about it. Desmond fished his phone out of his pocket and pressed 3-7, which was Lucy’s speed-dial. “What are you doing?”

“Shoosh,” Desmond said, still walking, phone to his ear as it rang. She picked up after a few rings. “Hey,” he said cheerfully.

“Did Clay tell you to call me?” she asked him, not bothering with pleasantries.

“No.”

“Oh, well, what do you want?” wow, she _was_ pissed. He glanced at Clay. “Desmond?”

“I just wanted to know how you were doing,” he shrugged, Clay was looking at him, horrified, because he knew who was on the other end. “I missed you last night at the party.”

“Yeah well, I’ve had worse,” she sighed.

“Get lucky?” and Clay sent him a murderous look.

“Ha! I wish,” she said scornfully.

“You don’t saaay,” and he rose his brows at Clay a few times. His friend just smacked his hand over his face.

“Yeah. But, it didn’t happen, so what’s the point getting hung up on it… How about you?” well that was a subtle way of asking if he’d gone home with Clay.

“No. I passed out in the upstairs bathroom,” he said.

“Oh, well, sorry about that,” she sounded more cheerful now, easier to talk to. They were standing at Clay’s car now, his black bike across the street from it.

“Eh, better then waking up in the woods,” she laughed, cause he _had_ done that. Shaun knew the parties that went on in the Middle Keys as he was from there and the Middle Keys had woods, Most of the Lower Keys didn’t, as they were either too populated, or not populated enough to warrant a party. He’d fallen asleep in some woods on Little Torch after cops had shown up, they’d run and he’d gotten lost. He’d been late to school the next day. His parents had been _pissed_. They didn’t mind if he went to parties and got drunk so long as his grades didn’t slip, he didn’t miss school and he didn’t drive drunk, especially on his bike. He’d been grounded from everything for three weeks for that fuck up.

She laughed, “Yeah, I suppose it would be,” she said. “What’re you doing?”

“I just got done having lunch with Clay and… oh, he wants to talk to you.”

“Does he now?” her mood became hard instantly.

“Yeah, be nice,” and he handed Clay the phone who was trying to deny it. Desmond just sent him a firm look and shoved the phone at him. Clay made a face and took it, giving Desmond a look of despair.

“Hey Lucy,” Clay said, trying to sound as chipper as he usually was. “Yeah I- No. No. Uh… I guess. I’m sorry okay? It was Shaun’s— Oh. No I didn-“ he glared at Desmond like he wished his friend would just burst into flames. Desmond made a sort of shooing motion as if to say, ‘get on with it’, and then tapped his wrist like he wore a watch, ‘I’m waiting’. “Hey, Lucy. Lucy. Desmond’s ditching out on me, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? It’s Saturday how are you busy? Can’t you do it tomorrow? … Oh c’mon you’re killing me here. I just wanna hang out with—“ he scuffed his foot on the road. Desmond gave him a hard look, he better not screw this up. Clay had a fucking silver tongue, how was he fumbling this‽ “Okay, I understand. No, really it’s okay. What about tomorrow?” he asked like a kicked dog. “But you just said- hey! Desmond what are you-

“Lucy, Clay’s trying to ask you out. Stop being your own cock block,” Desmond said, smashing his face up against Clay’s to talk into the mic.

“Desmond!” he yelled and lurched away. Then he was suddenly very interested in the phone call. “What? Yeah, he wasn’t lying. Willyougooutwithme?” he asked suddenly and looked very bashful, which was never a word he ever thought he’d use to describe Clay _ever_. “A- well I thought maybe we could go see the Avengers. Yes again, I know you like looking at Hawkeye’s butt,” and then he laughed, he’d probably just made Lucy flustered. But then Desmond didn’t blame her, Jeremy Renner had an _amazing_ ass. “I thought you had a project? Why would you lie to- Oh. _Oh_. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, I’ll see you there then,” and then he hung up. “You asshole,” and he punched Desmond in the shoulder.

“You love me,” Desmond said cheerfully, taking his phone back from his blonde friend. “So you got a date,” he grinned broadly.

Clay tried to look annoyed, he really did, but it didn’t really work out. “Yeah… I do,” he said sort of like it was some sort of magical event that he’d only ever read about. Desmond laughed at him.

“Go get ready for your movie Casanova,” and he shoved Clay towards his car. Clay made a face at him and Desmond just kept grinning.

“And what about you? Ganna go find yourself a smoking hot cut of Arab ass?”

“Gooooo fuck yourself Clay,” and Desmond flipped him the bird. “Actually I’m going to go home and play Infamous in my underwear, so there,” and stuck his tongue out at him. Clay chuckled. “Have fun and I hope you get laid.”

“Please do not think of me and Lucy having sex. One, it’s creepy, and two, you’ll jinx me.” Desmond laughed loudly and pulled on his leather jacket, but didn’t zip it up. “Then stop thinking about me and Altair.”

“I would think you’d want me to jinx you,” Clay said, from his car, through the window.

“Coming from you it’d stop me from getting laid till I left this fucking rock,” he said sitting astride his baby comfortably.

“I bet Lucy wouldn’t mind a threesome-

“You’re fucking weird man. And I thought we agreed I didn’t want to see you naked,” and he put on his helmet, buckling it under his chin.

“Juuuust putting it out there. You said she didn’t mind that dumb dare we did.”

“Not happening. Tell her she can fantasize though. I don’t mind being fetishized one bit.”

“Good cause I-

“If you finish that sentence I am going to kill you!” he yelled. Clay laughed. “Go to your fucking movie,” and he leaned down to turn his bike on. She rumbled to life with a sexy growl.

“Have fun with your video games,” Clay called and Desmond sent him a salute as Clay rolled his windows up. Desmond flipped up the kickstand and made his baby roar. Clay shoved his face up against the window making a disgusting face at him. Desmond pretended to not see and gunned the engine. The Kawasaki bellowed and he shot off down the street, bringing his feet up onto the pegs as he barreled down Catherine Street.


	11. Chapter 11

51 hours

Desmond had been trying to lay low all day. Thankfully most of the seniors he had class with ignored him, they usually did that as he was too smart for his own good sometimes, and a year younger then all of them. They tended to not like him for that reason, as they didn’t like it that a kid like him could one up most of them when it came to brains. He was seriously relieved when the lunch bell rang and he sprinted to the lunch room before the line got too long. He didn’t see Clay, that could be good, right?

Suddenly a big hand was being put on his shoulder and he stiffened, “Hey, Miles,” he peered over his shoulder. Oh good, it was only Ezio. No wait. Oh shit, it was Ezio!

“Hi,” he said as Ezio slid into line next to him with a cheerful grin.

“Man I was looking for.”

“You were?” shit, what if Altair had said something and Ezio had come to put the fear of god in him or something? Shit.

“Yeah,” but Ezio didn’t seem blood thirsty, in fact he was his usual friendly self. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”

“Depends,” Desmond said slowly, grabbing a styrofoam tray from the big stack of them to get his lunch. Fish burger and mac n’ cheese.

“I need to talk to your buddy.”

“Which one?” he wondered if he visibly relaxed. He couldn’t tell, he was a bit high strung and had been all day and he had Altair in his next class and he was _not_ looking forward to that at all.

“Uh… Kaczmarek?” he asked.

“Clay? Yeah, what do you need to talk to him about?” and he told the lunch lady, a frumpy dark skinned, Cuban woman with a hair net and a mustache, what he wanted for lunch.

“It’s about the party last week.”

“What about?” he was getting a weird feeling again.

“Does your friend DJ?”

If he wasn’t being buffered forward by Ezio himself, and the line behind him, he would have come to a dead halt. “DJ?” he asked stupidly.

“Yeah.”

“Uh… not that I know of,” he said awkwardly. Well, this conversation was not turning out the way he’d feared or expected. “Why?”

Ezio just shrugged as Desmond grabbed a carton of chocolate milk, “Just wanted to know. Need to talk to him though.”

“Ah— yeah, sure,” he said, this was weird and fucking surreal. He wasn’t sure he liked it. This was also the longest conversation he’d ever had with the star baseball player in his life. Ezio was kinda… dumb, not like retarded or anything, but Desmond was in all honor classes; Ezio wasn’t in a single one.

“Great,” Ezio smiled at him and Desmond thought he had a really nice smile. No wonder he was a heart throb. Not Desmond’s type, but still really hot, like his brother, hopefully he’d grow out his baby face though and then he’d just be strait lady killer to the max.

“I can take you to him now,” Desmond heard himself saying as he punched in his lunch number. Ezio nodded as the other lunch lady rung up his meal and took it out of his account. Ezio’s tray was full of a la carte items and Desmond felt a twitch of jealousy but covered it up quickly, it was stupid. “So just uh, follow me,” and then he was moving through the loud, crowded, lunch room, pushing through the huge line that was wrapped around the room and going out one of the set of doors.

He led Ezio outside to where he and his friends sat. The others were there sans Shaun who was god knew where. Clay had a lunch box today, Lucy’s step-dad brought her lunch every day, and Becca lived in Red Bulls and Pringles. He still didn’t know how his friend was still actually alive with her eating habits. Clay and Lucy were sitting close together, thighs touching and Becca was talking animatedly to Lucy as she ate some Publix sushi.

“Woah,” Clay said, “Where the fuck you find that Desmond? In the bottom of the cereal box?” he asked and his friend looked way too dumb-happy to be legal.

Desmond laughed though Ezio he could tell was slightly weirded out. That happened a lot to people who actually didn’t know Clay, or were meeting him for the first time. “Yeah, and he even has kung-fu grip,” he said. Clay thought that was the funniest thing in the world. Becca gave Lucy a look as if to say ‘and you’re dating this guy?’ and Lucy just rolled her eyes. “He wanted to talk to you,” Desmond added.

Clay sobered in an instant and now was looking at Ezio with great interest, “Really?” he asked. Ezio nodded. “Well then come join us!” he beckoned. As Ezio sat Lucy and Becca got up and moved a few feet away to continue talking. Ezio sat on the other side of Clay and Desmond sat between the two groups, more interested in his lunch then what they were talking about, he had a feeling he didn’t want to know, and both for two totally different reasons.

Lunch was gone quickly and he pulled a book out of his back pack to read. He kept catching glimpses of conversation on either side of him. Words like ‘money’, ‘DJ’, and ‘party’ kept coming from the conversation between Clay and Ezio while words like ‘boys’, ‘date’, and ‘biology’ came from Rebecca and Lucy’s. He was _pretty sure_ he was more terrified to know what the girls were talking about then his friend and the play boy were talking about. Seriously girls were scary and he was sort of glad he was gay sometimes. He tried to focus on his book and ignore the others and soon he’d just tuned them out.

He was grateful and freaked when the lunch bell rang. At least Ezio was leaving now. He watched the other boy go as he put his book away. “So what did Ezio want?” he finally asked Clay who was busily stuffing his face with the lunch he hadn’t eaten _during_ lunch.

“Frem franms fmre thu vlee vraa for a varfee on astrvlay,” Clay said.

Desmond just stared at him, “You’re disgusting,” he said. “As your best friend I’m telling you you’re disgusting and need to chew and talk at separate times.”

“Vfeuk vou,” Clay rolled his eyes at him.

“Clay,” Lucy said and his friend’s head shot up and he swallowed his food when she walked over to them. He was just staring at her in slight awe and wow his friend had it bad.

“Yeah?” he asked, sounding all tongue tied. Yep, so bad.

She gave him a fond smile, “You have food on your face silly,” and she leaned down and brushed it off the corner of his mouth.

“Oh,” he said intelligently.

“I would not believe this unless I saw it,” at some point Shaun had shown up and he was standing with Becca behind Demond. Becca had her hand in Shaun’s back pocket.

He turned back around in time to catch Lucy saying, “I’ll see you in seventh period,” and then she gave him a peck on the lips and then turned back to Becca and Shaun and they left for class.

Clay looked like he wanted to melt into the concrete slab. “Dude. You okay?” Desmond asked.

“Just fine,” Clay said in a dreamy voice, totally watching Lucy’s ass as she walked away.

“Dude,” he said.

“Yeah?” he finally turned to Desmond again.

Desmond just blinked at him, a bit dumb struck. “You’ve been going out two days,” he reminded his friend.

“Yeah? And?”

Desmond rolled his eyes and got to his feet, grabbing onto the back of Clay’s collar and dragging him up. “Class. You have history,” and he shoved his back pack at him.

“Right. Right,” Clay nodded coming back to himself. Then he realized what he’d just done. “I wasn’t drooling was I?”

“No. Not yet at least.”

“Oh good!” Clay said enthusiastically. And then Desmond was hustling after him as he threw away their trash and was then practically running up the open stairwell. He caught Clay before he could vanish into his pod though.

“What did Ezio want?” he asked.

“He wanted to know if I wanted to DJ a friend of his party.”

“But you aren’t a DJ.”

“Music coordinator then,” Clay rolled his eyes hard. “But fuck it, I get money out of the deal!”

Desmond snorted but was smiling, “That’s great. When is it?”

“Next weekend. And you’re flying wingman.”

“You can’t have wingmen when you’re dating someone,” Desmond reminded him.

“I mean to keep people away and have fun and drink and shit,” Clay scoffed. “I need to buy some apps,” he said suddenly and then darted into the pod without another word. Desmond sighed and rolled his eyes before walking down the breezeway to his locker and getting his books and headed to chemistry. As he went he started to feel more nervous about the whole thing and wondered if he could fake a stomach ache and go to the nurse, or just hide in the boy’s bathroom.

No, he couldn’t do that. He sucked it up and slipped into the classroom and sat next to Caterina and hunched over, rifling through his book bag. “Hey Desmond,” Caterina said easily in greeting.

“Hey Cat,” he said distractedly, trying to not be noticed by the other seniors coming into class and also look for Altair so he knew if he was screwed or not. He still had Altair’s shirt.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Mmm? Yeah, totally cool,” he said.

“You have a good weekend?” she continued and when he sent her an unamused look she just smiled.

“Fantastic,” he said gravely.

She laughed slightly, “Well I know you had a good time Friday. What happened to you? You pass out somewhere?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” and his voice totally went up half an octave when Altair walked into class with one of his friends who was _not_ in this class and oh my god what was going on!?!

“You okay?” she asked again as he seemed to try and crawl into his back pack.

“Yeah, just fine, I’m just looking for a pencil.”

“There’s one on the desk.”

“There is?” he pulled his head out of his bag, “Oh well would you look at that. Great. Just… great,” and he looked around. Altair was sitting though, two tables in front of and to the left of him.

“You’re acting weird today Desmond, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, just fine,” he turned to Caterina. “Clay’s just got me jumpy and feeling like a third wheel.”

“Really?” she actually sounded interested.

“Yeah he’s got a girlfriend,” he said.

She blinked, “I don’t know if I believe you or not,” she said.

“No really. He’s going out with Lucy Stillm-” and then the bell rang.

“Class,” the teacher started immediately and Desmond had a reason to shut up. Good too cause he was not in a talking mood at all. He listened to the teacher and took notes when appropriate and kept glancing at Altair. It was like a nervous tick and wouldn’t stop. He really had to stop though, this was stupid. He concentrated on the teacher, both he and Caterina taking detailed notes. Then they said they were going to show a movie the rest of the class.

Desmond sat back in his chair as the lights got turned off and the movie turned on. There was actually cheering when the Bill Nye theme and intro started playing. He even saw more then one person bobbing along or mouthing the words. He grinned and tried to watch.

Except he kept getting _distracted_. At one point he swore he saw Altair look back at him and then started keeping an eye on him, wary as a rabbit with an eagle circling overhead. All that was missing was a quivering nose and a cotton tail. Then his brain took that image a bit too far and he pressed his hand over his eyes. Except _something else_ was quivering and the cotton tail was attached to a pair of underwear. Wow he needed to stop, and all this happened in a few quick seconds. He _really_ needed to get laid. _Properly_ laid.

When he finally pulled his hand away he focused on Bill Nye and thought a lot of unsexy thoughts. He made about five minutes before looking at Altair again, he was sitting relaxed in his chair before, like something funny had occurred to him, his shoulders shook a little, though his laughter was silent. Desmond propped his head up on his fist and decided that watching Altair was a lot more interesting then Billy Nye. Potentially more destructive, but at least the back of Altair’s head was attractive.

He started when Caterina nudge him in the side and looked at her quickly. She gave him a look, “What?” he asked in a whisper.

“Are you seriously staring at Altair?” she asked back in a whisper.

“What?” he sounded almost panicked.

“You know he’s straight right?”

“Yeah…” no need to burst her bubble on that. No guy who sucked dick that good was any synonym of straight.

Caterina’s lips went thin a moment, “I don’t want you to get hurt,” she whispered, “So try setting your sights on a guy who’d appreciate you,” and he stared at her. He didn’t know Caterina cared. His brain to mouth filter must have failed him then. “Of course I care you insensitive jerk,” she said, frowning and he realized he’d said that bit aloud. She shrugged a little, “You’re a friend, and Altair’s a weirdo,” not a word of choice he’d use to describe Altair, but he didn’t know him, Caterina sort of did. At the very least she knew Ezio and Ezio and Altair were best friends.

“Thanks,” he said, cause he meant it. “I promise I won’t try to touch Altair inappropriately.” Woops! Broke that promise already and his fingers suddenly itched and wanted to crawl all over someone else’s skin.

Caterina laughed softly, “Try somewhere in the ball park,” she advised.

“Sure. Will do,” he smiled at her, glad that had been worked out with minimal embarrassment. “Doesn’t mean I can’t look,” he added with some raised brows. Caterina just rolled her eyes a little and he back to trying to focus on Bill Nye. This time his eyes didn’t go to the back of Altair’s head nearly as often as before. Well, it was a start he guessed.


	12. Chapter 12

76 hours 

Desmond was, weirdly, a fan of Tuesdays, he was a fan of Tuesdays because Tuesdays weren’t Mondays, or Wednesdays. He had a awful track record with Wednesdays and Mondays were just shitty in general, for everyone, it was a universal law that Mondays had to be terrible and if they weren’t then you were some sort of weird freak of nature. Thursdays weren’t bad, and Fridays were pretty great too, but Desmond still liked Tuesdays. He also had club on Tuesday.

First though, he had to survive Chemistry. Now he said that but it wasn’t like it was anything bad. Like the day before Altair just ignored him and maybe because he was in easy line of sight but Desmond couldn’t stop stealing looks. He was going to drive himself insane by the end of the week at this rate and he wished this weird tension he was personally feeling wouldn’t be there. He had a feeling that if Altair had, in fact, been straight and thus been awful on Friday he wouldn’t have felt so damn edgy. But he _wasn’t_ straight, and it was fucking with him since even Clay was convinced Altair was straight (until recently mind you) and that was saying something since Clay was convinced most of the guys in school were either gay, bi, or repressing homosexual tendencies.

Clay was also crazy.

The bell rang and it startled him. Shit. Where had the period gone? He packed up quickly as Caterina stood up with her stuff and left. “Desmond,” his head jerked up sharply, almost giving himself whiplash when a male voice called to him. Oh, it was just the teacher.

“Yeah Mr. B?” he asked, still stuffing his stuff into his backpack. The chem teacher beckoned to him as the rest of the class filed out and he bounded to the teacher’s desk once he’d collected his things. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Mr. B nodded, “I wanted to know if you were interested in tutoring.”

“Tutoring?”

“Yes, there are several kids who could use the extra help with their work in this class, and the school is trying to get grades up, so their instigating a new tutoring program. I was wondering if you’d be interested.”

“Uh- what days is it?”

“Any day you want really, but they start tomorrow.” Desmond’s mouth became thin, “It’ll look good on your transcripts,” he added.

Desmond bit his lower lip, “Okay. It’d be for chemistry?” 

“Yes. It’s up here after school tomorrow just so you can meet who you’re tutoring and then you can decide to go to another class if you want. It’s required that you meet at least once a week and check in with me when you do.”

“Okay,” he said, bobbing his head. Then he asked, “Do you know if they’re doing an English tutoring?”

“I believe so, you’ll have to ask Mrs. Shapell about it though as she’s the English head.”

“Right, of course.”

“Do you want me to write you a pass?” Mr. B asked him.

“Ah, yeah! That’d be great. I have English,” and Mr. B wrote him his pass and he ducked out, now not bothering to run to his next class.

He had Lucy in his English class, as it was the one class he had at his age level with the junior class instead of his actual graduating class. He slid into the desk next to her a minute after the bell after he gave the teacher his pass. “You do the reading?” she asked him quietly as the teacher let the class have a few minutes.

“What? Yes, of course I did, you think I want to get verbally abused by you for not doing the reading?” he teased and she giggled and gave him a playful push. “Though this book is soooo boring,” he groaned and hung his head, they were reading Brave New World and Desmond wanted to just lobotomize himself if it meant he didn’t have to read this shit. He wasn’t a scifi guy, he liked historical nonfiction and memoirs, or historical fiction, just not this garbage.

“It’s very interesting,” she insisted.

“It’s boring and I’d rather read Of Mice and Men again, and that actually put me to sleep,” and she laughed. “So…

“So?”

“Everything cool with you and Clay?” and she flushed. “I take that as a yes,” he grinned at her.

“It really isn’t any of your business,” she huffed, though not unkindly.

“He’s in everyone else’s love life all the time, thought it would be fair if I was in his,” and he grinned, she rolled her eyes. “But it’s good he hasn’t driven you up a wall yet.”

“I do know how to handle Clay Desmond, thank you,” she reminded him.

“Yeah but as a boyfriend?”

“Well he can’t be any more annoying then you are right now,” she sent him a look.

“Ouch. I think I actually need ice for that,” and that made her laugh again. Then the teacher told them to settle down and took roll. “Don’t forget,” he added in a whisper, “club today.”

“Do I ever forget?” she asked back in the same volume.

“I’m sort of waiting for you all to realize how fucking geeky it is and never come back,” and she had to cover her mouth to not disrupt the class, Desmond just smiled and tried to keep his head in the game.

—

‘Club’ wasn’t really a club, not a school club at least. They just called it club, like a code word so people didn’t know, because while fun it was a pretty low-on-the-totem-pole thing to do in terms of ‘coolness’ which Desmond thought was stupid. People who were worried about being cool were pretty stupid, but still he called it club as well, as he didn’t want to be _that guy._ Bad enough there were the crazy anime kids in school who always got the weird looks or dressed up randomly with their Naruto headbands, arm warmers, and furry tails. There was even a girl who wore a dog collar, every day, with a tag! TV never showed you how fucking weird high school students really were, or how mean they were, since there were more then a few comments about the weird anime kids and the Magic kids and Desmond didn’t want to be known as ‘the guy with the D &D club’. Last thing he wanted _ever_.

When he’d visited his cousin for the summer back when he was a freshman and his cousin had been really big into it and he’d gotten to play campaigns and still had the half elf he’d made that summer that came out sometimes to assist when adventurers fucked up and everyone complained about not wanting to get killed by a T-rex, or a leviathan or the fucking Tarrasque (that had happened to least once when they’d complained about fighting mind flayers), so the epic level NPC would show up and save all their asses. When he’d come home that fall he’d, naturally, told Clay, who had told Shaun and while at first he was worried they’d call him a dork for it Shaun had been into it and they’d gone to the local Borders (before it got closed down, fucking Barnes and Noble) and read the books together. Before the end of the first quarter of sophomore year (though Desmond’s junior year) Shaun and he were convinced they wanted to run a campaign, only it took until after Christmas to actually do as neither of them had that sort of cash to spend on the books.

The only problem after that was finding others who wanted to play with them. Clay was in by default, since Desmond did every stupid plan and game and club with him so Clay had to at least try it. Shaun convinced Rebecca pretty easily too, so that just left Lucy and Clay (Desmond still wasn’t sure how he convinced the, then serious faced, Lucy to do so but he wasn’t going to ask, just another of Clay’s many mysteries) got her to come to one of the later games. Which was better since the first few were rather… disastrous. But that had been a year ago, they knew how to do it now and they all could make character sheets in about twenty minutes, which was seriously good thing since Desmond liked killing their characters, or at least try to kill them, and send them on dangerous adventures. Shaun basically gave skill adventures which was less adventure and more ‘keep your twenty close for a skill check’ which were fun in their own ways.

His mom was home when he pulled up to the house and went in, “Hey mooom,” he called and swung into the living room where she was watching TV, “it’s Tuesday,” he said hanging off the edge of the wall.

She smiled at him, “I am well aware what day it is Desmond.”

“It’s club day,” he added, they changed club day every now and then to accommodate schedules, club day had been Tuesday since the start of school, but during the summer it’d been on Fridays.

“Oh,” she said with a nod, “I forgot,” she admitted. “I don’t know why you won’t let me and your father be here,” she laughed a little.

“Cause you’ll ask a lot of questions.”

“No I—“ he just sent her a look and she chuckled, “Yes okay, I suppose you’re right. When are the others coming?”

“Few minutes,” he shrugged and kicked his toe against the floor.

“Hmm,” and she got up, “All right, I’m going to go over to Jessica’s, I’ll be back to make dinner, don’t burn the house down.”

“We won’t,” he drawled, making the long, she ruffled his hair affectionately before getting her things to go to her friend’s. Desmond went to his own room and picked up the big white board they used as a map, and the small stack of D&D books he and Shaun had bought over the past year or so, and went back out to the kitchen. He heard his mom leave as he put the board on the table, it marked off in inch by inch squares with thin strips of duct tape and were colored over with every shade so they looked more black then silver.

He was coming out from getting the limited amount of figurines , his _massive_ bag of dice, the white board markers, and the character sheet folder, when there was a knock on the door. He let the other four in and Clay snatched the green folder from his hands as they went to the table. 

Shaun sat at the head of the table and Desmond surrendered the markers to him and he quietly went about drawing the map, he was DMing club today. “Can I play Abel?” Clay asked leafing through the folder.

“Who’s that again?” Desmond asked.

“My cleric with the morning star.”

“No you idiot he’s dead remember?”

“No…”

“Mind flayers got him,” he reminded him.

“Damn-

“You don’t have any usable characters Clay,” Rebecca said and grabbed the folder from him. “Unlike the rest of us you don’t try and make yours not die and so always get the new weakling.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, even though it was true, Clay died more then any of them, though Desmond usually made it a point to try harder to kill them once they got past level ten. Right now they all (except Clay) were level three, so he was still going easy on them. “You just remake the same dwarf every time,” he added, moody.

“That’s cause she’s a badass,” Rebecca said, leering and proudly yanked her character sheet from the ‘live’ side of the folder. The ‘dead’ side was much fuller though, and was usually used to NPCs if needed. She passed the folder to Lucy who tugged out an empty sheet and handed it to Clay who muttered to himself  but fished out dice and the Players Handbook from the pile and went to work making a new character. Lucy pulled out her own sheet and Desmond’s as well and handed him his monk.

In the time it took for Clay to finish his character, an elven warlock (since they were out a wizard this time), Shaun was ready to go. And in very un-Shaun-like form started them fighting a juvenile red dragon.

They were fucked.

—

Everyone ended staying for dinner, which was cool and rarely happened as often after club they were all ready to really kill each other and went their separate ways. But Shaun had killed Clay’s character, and Lucy’s character and almost killed Desmond’s before it ended and so now the only person they wanted to kill for real now was Shaun. Thankfully his dad came home before it resulted in violence- even if it would have probably been nothing more then tickling Shaun to death- and they put away the board and books and their few figurines. It was tacos for dinner and Desmond convinced his parents to let Clay spend the night even though it was a school night. Mr. Kaczmarek had said it was okay as well and that was the end of that.

When the others had left Desmond and Clay retreated into his room. “You only want me to spend the night when you’ve got something on your mind,” Clay said, eyeing him as he sat on Desmond’s bed.

“What I can’t just want my best friend to spend the night?” Desmond scoffed.

“What is it?”

Desmond rolled his eyes, “It’s nothing, you’re delusional. Smash Bros?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Hell yeah,” he said and Desmond pulled out his N64, the brick of the device had survived five moves and being dropped more times then he could count. Before he’d gotten his PS3 it was the only system he’d had growing up and probably had every (good) game for the system that was known to man and was in English. Also PS3 was an asshole with multiplayer and usually made you play online. 

They played for a while before Desmond said he had homework, and had to read more of Brave New World, which was going to slowly kill him, he just knew it. Clay did his own reading while Desmond did his calculus homework and his chemistry homework, to put off reading Brave New World and his bio worksheet which required more reading. But Clay just grabbed Brave New World before he could put it off more and read him the part he was supposed to read out loud, because Clay was the best guy you could have for a friend and knew Desmond was an audio and tactile learner, not a visual one. He even did voices, which was perhaps the greatest thing ever since he gave all the women deep, manly, voices.

He just put off the bio work and flopped down on his bed, next to Clay and jammed his pillow up under his head. “What’s up?” Clay asked.

“Nothing,” he said in a monotone.

“Yeah there is, c’mon,” he nudged him in the shoulder, “tell me.”

“I think I’m losing my mind.”

Clay laughed, “Welcome to every day of my life, man,” he snickered. “Now c’mon, what is it?”

Desmond groaned and pressed his face into his pillow, “You ever wish something did happen, just so you didn’t think about what didn’t happen?”

“I think? What do you mean?”

Desmond pursed his lips, not looking at his friend, and then said, “Okay so you’re in a situation and something looks like it’s going to happen. But in the end, it doesn’t happen, and something else happens instead. It’s still a good result, but you keep thinking about what _didn’t_ happen instead.”

Clay laid down next to him, “Wanna give me an example,” and Desmond gave him a dirty look, knowing Clay wasn’t really _that_ obtuse. 

“You just want me to say it,” Desmond grumbled.

“Yep,” Clay said with a too-wide grin.

“Fucking weirdo,” he grumbled and moodily said nothing. “I have Altair in chem class and… I might be staring at his ass-

Clay interrupted with great, annoying, loud laughter. Desmond sort of sat up and swung his pillow at him with enough force that Clay fell off the bed; it didn’t stop him from laughing however. “You’re a fucking asshole, I am never telling you anything again; ever,” and Desmond flopped down and pulled the pillow firmly over his head, sulking.

“Everything all right in there?” William called through the door.

“Fine,” Desmond yelled back, “Clay’s just having a moment,” and he shot a filthy look at Clay who was finally getting a grip.

“All right,” and his dad left.

“Okay. Okay,” Clay wheezed. “I’m sorry. But just, oh my god, you’re such a dope,” and he crawled back onto the bed with Desmond, he was facing the wall with his pillow over his head still though. “Heeeey, c’mon,” and he made Desmond roll over and snatched his pillow, “I won’t laugh again. Promise,” and he drew an X over his heart.

“You’re still a jerk.”

“That’s why we’re friends,” and he flopped down next to him so they were lying side by side. “So, you’re in chem with Altair.”

Desmond pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes, “And I sit behind him like a table or so and he sits on the aisle with me and I have definitely been staring at his ass today and yesterday,” and he shot Clay a look, daring him to laugh. Clay didn’t though.

“So what’s the problem? Guys look at girls they can’t have all the time,” Clay shrugged.

“Need I remind you; this is _Altair_ , the fucking inside backer. Have you _seen_ how big he is?”

“Well he did come to volley ball last week, so yes, I have, I’m sure you have a more-

“Don’t,” Desmond growled and Clay flashed him a grin but didn’t finish. “He’s pretty much been ignoring me, which is good but… Well you know, he’s got this whole ‘straight’ thing going on and I know he’s not above kicking a nerd’s ass for staring at his.”

“Even if he had said nerd in his bed.”

“It didn’t mean anything.”

“Yet you’re staring at Altair’s ass. You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I don’t _want_ to want to look at his ass it’s just…

“He’s got a nice ass?”

“Yes!” he pouted into his pillow. “And I wish we _had_ had sex, on Friday.”

“So you’d stop obsessing about his ass?”

“Yes.”

“I think you just have an ass obsession.”

“I’m gay Clay, kindly come up with an observation that _isn’t_ obvious,” he huffed and Clay laughed at that. But that was a joke so it was okay.

“Get laid? I think it’s just pent up sexual frustration.”

“Gee, thanks, I never thought of that.”

“Not that it’s any of mu business but have you, you know,” he shrugged helplessly.

“Dude… you’re so fucking weird,” Desmond sent him a slightly grossed out look. “My masturbation habits are really no business of yours.”

“You said it, not me,” Clay said, holding his hands up defensively. “But really, get laid?”

“I’m not having sex with you if that’s what you’re implying,” Clay still bothered to open his mouth, “ _Or_ having a threesome,” he added and Clay closed his mouth; a wise decision.

“Well, you two aren’t the only gay guys in school. Find one and get fucked,” Clay said after a few seconds. “Or fuck, whichever you prefer,” he shrugged. “Or, you know, you _could_ come on to him-

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say. And that includes the three some stupidity.”

“Whaaaat? He was obviously the one who wanted to get into your pants the first time. Maybe he’s interested.”

“Trust me. He _isn’t_ interested.”

“You a mind reader or something?”

“Well. He kicked me out of his fuck off mansion, and he hasn’t even looked at me in the two classes we’ve had since Friday. So yeah, I can safely say he isn’t interested.”

There was another silence, “Come on to Ezio?”

“Claaaay,” he groaned, “Ezio isn’t gay,” and he shoved his face into his pillow again.

“Hidden gay tendencies.”

“No. No he doesn’t have those. God he’s _straight_ , get with it,” he huffed.

“Well you wanted options,” Clay shrugged. “And since you aren’t interested in a threesome, which, by the way, I mentioned in passing to Lucy. After she pulled her hands off her face and told me I was weird and what was I thinking for even _mentioning_ that I could totally tell she’d be into it.”

“No wonder you haven’t had a girlfriend,” Desmond said in as bland as he could manage. “Try not to fuck it up, kay?”

Clay made a dumb face, “You’re currently fucking up your love life for the both of us buddy.”

“I don’t _have_ a love life Clay oh my god.”

“Dude, just grow a pair and flirt with him. Worst he can do is glare at you.”

“He’s kinda scary though,” Desmond said in a small voice.

Clay rolled his eyes, “At the least give him his shirt back, which I know you still have…

“Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking oh my fucking god you’re disgusting-

“I wasn’t thinking of anything-

“You so were! I saw it in your eyes-

“You’re delusional.”

“You’re crazy.”

“You’re still delusional.”

Desmond just kicked him off his bed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … can this story just keep on being about Des and Clay’s legendary bromance? Cause wow these two I can’t even. Altair’s just sort of a vehicle for their bromance at this point XD

103 hours

He showed up at the tutoring class after school for the chemistry tutoring, apparently it also counted as community service, and Desmond was still short his community service hours to get the Bright Future’s scholarship. Which he really wanted since money was getting harder and harder to come by and while his dad made good money it wouldn’t get him through the college he wanted without serious loans. He wanted to go to UM, because it was pretty much the second best school in the state, only after UF. Also it was near by and Desmond would still be a minor when he went to college for the first year, and his mom didn’t want him going too far. She’d miss him. But he’d miss here so he’d suffer Miami to be able to stay close to the Keys, and his parents.

There were already a few people in the huge room, it supposedly was supposed to be a metal shop, or for auto, but KWH didn’t have that. So the big garage had been remade as a science classroom where the main subject was biology. As it was the biggest classroom they had it was ideal for study groups as they could spread out and not get in each other’s ways. There were three pairs already working, or probably, talking. He went up to Mr. B who was waiting behind the unfamiliar desk with his school issued laptop.

“Mr. B? I’m here,” he announced.

The old man looked up, “Ah good to see you Desmond,” and behind him the door opened. “And here are the rest of you, good, good,” he went to his laptop and no doubt brought up the sheet for groups. Desmond glanced around at the three other kids who’d shown up and tried not to pale because one of them was Altair, looking grumpy and sullen, the hood of his ash gray hoodie pulled up and over his head. The other two he didn’t know, a boy and a girl, the girl had looping, curly, red hair, and the boy had short black hair and wore a beanie and looked like he smoke too much weed. “Okay, Sofia, you’re going to be with Ugo,” and he motioned to the boy in the beanie.

“Okay,” and she towed Ugo away who looked torn between staring at Sofia (who was hot) and being irritated about his life in being here.

Behind him Altair huffed irritably, “Do I _have_ to be here Mr. B?” he groaned, “I’m going to miss practice.”

“You’re almost failing my class Altair. You know the rules with sports, so yes, you have to be here,” Mr. B said calmly. “You two will be working together,” he added. “Make sure he stays on task Desmond, he’s a slacker.”

“I’m Altair’s tutor?” he actually squeaked and glanced at Altair who just looked put off by the entire world, Desmond included.

“Yes? Is that a problem?”

Yeap. Today was definitely a Wednesday. Only Wednesdays could be the awful and ruin Desmond’s entire week so easily. He looked at Altair again, who wasn’t looking at him. Oh _joy_ , not only would he have to deal with Altair (who he’d had a one night stand with and still had his shirt and fuck he really didn’t want to think of that right now) but he’d have to deal with a pissed off jock who didn’t want to be here and thought the entire thing was stupid. Oh goodie. Desmond’s favorite; dumb jocks. Fuck his life and fuck Wednesdays. Still, he was the only one and he wasn’t getting out of this without a real reason. God fucking damnit.

“No, no problem,” he said thickly and was glad his throat didn’t crack. Then he left the desk and went to go sit down. He heard Altair follow a few seconds later with an intense sigh. Desmond sat, and Altair grabbed a chair and sat opposite him, sitting backwards in the chair and leaned on it, arms folded across the back, staring at him from under his hood.

“Miles,” he said as his form of greeting.

“Altair,” he said and swallowed and put his backpack on the table. He unzipped it to distract himself and pulled out the chemistry book and his notebook and a pencil. “So, where do you want to start?” he asked awkwardly.

“Not here that’s for sure,” and he looked down and pressed his forehead into his arms.

“Well you have to be here so you might as well make the best of it.”

Altair sighed again, “Whatever,” he muttered but looked up. Well this was awful in an entirely different reason then he was fearing would be awful. It wasn’t that it was awkward because of last weekend, in fact it was weirdly _not_ awkward. It was like it hadn’t happened. Vaguely he wondered if Altair had been so drunk he’d just forgotten it. So that wasn’t why this was awful. No it was awful because Altair was a fucking dick who was going to drag his feet through this and make his life difficult and just be annoying.

Desmond took a calming breathe, “Tell me what you need help in,” he said. 

Altair didn’t say anything at first, and he couldn’t see what he was thinking as his eyes were shadowed. “Everything,” he said after a moment.

“Okay,” Desmond said slowly. “Where do you want to start with ‘ _everything_ ’?”

“I’m really bad with the vocab,” he said.

“Okay, we can start there,” and he dug out his flashcards and a pair of scissors. He shoved the book at Altair, and cut two of the cards in half. “Write the words you have trouble with down,” and he handed the cut cards to him, “and the definition. Though not the one in the back of the book,” Altair scowled at him at that, “write one that makes sense to you.”

“And what if I can’t make heads or tails of this stupid shit?”

“Well, that’s why I’m here, now _vamos_ ,” and he flapped his hand at Altair. Altair muttered something to himself in Spanish, “ _What was that?”_ Desmond asked and enjoyed the look of surprise on Altair’s face at Desmond’s Spanish, even if it was slightly flawed. “Stop moping and get to, you only have to be here an hour.”

“What are you, my drill sergeant?”

“No. I’m your tutor, which with me might as well be the same thing,” and he flapped his hand at Altair again and went back to cutting the cards as Altair pulled a pen out of the pocket at the front of his hoodie and, starting at the front of the book, started to write definitions.

—

Clay lived in Smurf Village, so called because the houses were vaguely mushroom shaped and most of them blue in color. The roads in this part of the city were reminiscent of Old Town while not _actually being_ _in Old Town_ with trees covering the roads and the houses packed close together like sardines. But it was considered New Town because it wasn’t Old Town, which made no sense to people who didn’t live in Key West but to Conchs it made total sense. Also they lived in Florida and even living here for almost four years Desmond knew Florida was just sort of weird in general.

Clay and his dad lived in one of the blue, mushroom shaped houses under a thick canopy of old trees that actually weren’t in any danger of landing on the house should a hurricane blow in. Desmond kicked down the kick stand when he got there and hopped off his bike and upstairs to the first floor. The Smurf houses had a standard two floors, ground, and then the first floor. Some of the ground floors had been converted into apartments or secondary houses, or just rooms downstairs for extra space, or an extra room for the family. Clay’s downstairs was enclosed and it was his dad’s workshop and office. His dad was an engineer, but was never actually home it seemed like except to yell at Clay for something he’d done wrong.

He knocked, loudly, and waited, rocking on the backs of his heels before the door opened. “Hey Lucy,” he said when she got the door. He knew she’d be here, and he knew better then to show up at Clay’s house unexpected now that he and Lucy were going out. Not that he never would, but he wasn’t planning on it. She let him in and he snaked inside and they went back to Clay’s bedroom which was in the back of the house. “Could you give us a second?” he asked Lucy before going in.

“Why?”

“Because I need to talk to my friend about some stuff.”

“I can’t hear?” she pouted at him.

“Uh… not that I don’t love ya Luc, but no.”

“Is it about you-know-who?” Clay called from inside his room.

“Voldemort?” Lucy asked and he and Clay laughed.

“Not nearly as scary,” Clay said.

“And yes, it is about Voldemort,” Desmond said and gave Clay a significant look.

“Is this like… the gay equivalent to girl talk?” Lucy asked, eyeing Desmond.

“Yes, exactly. So now Clay and I need to have a moment, if you please?”

She huffed and pretended to look annoyed, “Okay,” and went back down the short hall. “Harold’s not coming home till late,” she threw over her shoulder, “I told Clay I’d make him dinner.”

“Wow you’re getting domestic already,” and he dodged a magnet aimed at his head from where she’d pulled it off the fridge. Lucy had pretty good aim and almost beamed him. He should have known better then to tease the varsity softball first base-woman.

“Want to stay for dinner?”

“Sure!” he chirped cheerfully and then ducked into Clay’s room and closed the door. Clay was on his bed, playing with his DS, he sat upright attentively when Desmond closed the door.

“So! Voldemort?” he asked sweetly and Desmond sat on his bed, “What’s new with Voldemort?” and he grinned widely.

“He’s the guy I’m tutoring in chemistry-

“NO FUCKING WAY!” Clay actually yelled.

“Will you shut up?” and he slapped his hand over Clay’s mouth before he could _keep_ yelling.

Clay pushed his hand away, “Okay and? What happened? Was it weird? Did he do anything? Did he touch you inappropriately Desmond? Cause I will kick his ass for you if you want.”

Desmond chuckled, “No. Nothing even happened. He was just grumpy and didn’t want to be there cause he was missing football practice.” Clay looked like he was about to vibrate right out of his skin.

“So he didn’t mention Friday at all?”

“Nope.”

“Or Saturday?”

“Nope.”

“Are you going to give him his shirt back?”

“Nope— no wait. Yes. No… I don’t know,” and Desmond rubbed his face.

“Did you take my advice?”

“And what advice was that again oh great sage of relationship knowledge?” and he did some mystical hand motions for effect.

“Did you flirt with him?”

“What? No. Are you crazy-

“We’ve covered that topic of conversation quite a bit-

“I didn’t flirt with him. He looked like he was about to rip someone’s head off nearly the whole time. He _really_ didn’t want to be there.”

“Well it isn’t all bad then.”

“Mmmm?”

“You still going to look at his ass?”

There was a silence that almost stretched into uncomfortable, “Probably. It’s really nice,” he added, as if that was _any_ sort of defense at all.

“Well, then maybe you should make him want to go to tutoring is all I’m saying.”

“What do you mean and am I going to regret asking?”

“Well, tutoring sucks, no offense, but it does. And Altair’s a proud guy and really isn’t _that_ stupid. He probably doesn’t like going to this. So, make him want to go?”

“And how do I do that? And why should I?”

“I dunno you’re the one who enjoys the view of him from behind, not me,” Clay said with a shrug. “And you said it wasn’t awkward, so… maybe he wouldn’t mind-

“Stop. Just stop,” and Desmond pressed his face into his hands. “Stop trying to hook us up. It isn’t going to happen.”

“But why not? I mean, you’re interested in him.”

“I think he’s hot. I don’t really know anything about him other then that and. Not exactly the best reason to get into a relationship.”

“So? People get into physical relationships all the time. Fuck, at the least do it because you want him to do obscene things to you.”

“And since when have relationships like that ever worked out from everyone?”

“Why are you so difficult about this? God you’re acting like a girl-

“Sorry for wanting something more out of a relationship then just sex,” Desmond grumbled and pouted at his friend. “Or even want a relationship with Voldemort in the first place!”

“Cause he has an amazing ass, remember? Also he isn’t as much as a dick as you’re pretending he is. He was seriously freaked out when he hit you in the face with that volleyball.”

“Uuuhg, don’t remind me of that,” he groaned and rubbed his face.

“So I’m saying. Flirt with him, get to know him maybe? If all else fails go to another party he goes to and get him drunk again and get that fucking sexual tension out of you, it’s nearly embarrassing knowing you.”

“Oh fuck you,” Desmond growled.

“If you want.”

“Shut up!” Desmond cried even as he laughed, “Not happening. You have a girlfriend now make her do that.”

“Yeah well she-

“Don’t wanna know!” and now Clay laughed.

“Okay so you going to do anything about Voldemort?” he asked.

Desmond sighed and pulled his hand down his face, “Well we’re only meeting on Wednesday for tutoring, he has practice all the rest of the week since the coach pushes practice on Wednesday back since it’s a school wide thing and mandatory for some of his players. So-

“He also comes to volleyball,” he put in, “Or he did last week. Not sure about this week. You coming to that tomorrow?”

“Can’t, I have work earlier then usual.”

“Damn. Okay,” he nodded. “So, Voldemort?”

“I guess…” he chewed his bottom lip. “If I can get him to not be so moody during tutoring I might, _might_ , flirt with him and oh my god get that fucking grin off your face I hate you!” and with that he rolled off the bed and Clay hopped off after him as Desmond left. “Luuucccy,” Desmond whined as he went into the kitchen.

“What is it? Were you two playing nice?” she teased. On the stove a pot of water was boiling.

“Nooo, Clay’s being mean to me,” and he curled his arms around her waist and pressed against her back.

“Hey that isn’t fair, going to my own girlfriend for help,” Desmond just stuck his tongue out at Clay from over Lucy’s shoulder when he came into the kitchen.

“You boys play nice,” and she gave Desmond a pat on the cheek. “What was he doing?” she sent a look to Clay.

“Teasing me about my taste in men.”

“Oh… well,” and he and Clay laughed at the slightly uncomfortable and surprised look on Lucy’s face. He gave her another squeeze before letting her go and they watched Lucy make them dinner.


	14. Chapter 14

154 hours

In the Keys, the high school sport you watched, and gave a shit about, was football. Sure there was baseball, but Desmond hadn’t been to a baseball game here in Key West in his life, and there was soccer and while Desmond thought it was pretty fun to _play_ soccer, it was amazingly dull to watch. He’d played in elementary and middle school when they’d lived in Texas at Fort Worth, and hadn’t he gotten so much shit for that when he first moved here, being from Texas before moving to Florida. Though he was born in South Dakota so when people tried to call him a Texan he just flipped them off.

But football in the Keys, and especially Key West, was a big deal. The Key West Conchs (yes KWH’s sports teams were named after _shells_ ) and the Marathon Dolphins (and the fish, not the mammal) had a long standing rivalry a as wide as the Seven Mile Bridge. The Citizen aways reported on the games and there was enough trash talking about both team from the opponents to make anyone a bit ashamed.

Tonight there was a game at Marathon between the Dolphins and the Conchs. Like most games between the two teams the turn out was ridiculous. It was comparable to the Yankees playing at Fenway Stadium, that’s sort of how big the sport was in the Keys. Marathon didn’t have a stadium though like Key West did, it was actually their practice field, and their soccer field, and their everything field, as Marathon had _one_ field. 

The home stands were packed with kids and adults wearing blue, gold, and silver, some in jerseys, others with faces painted, but most in just their normal clothes. The pitifully tiny Marathon band took up a sliver of their bleachers where as the Key West band (which had come this game, though this wasn’t normal) took up nearly half of the visiting bleachers. The visiting stands were just as insane too with people in red and black and silver, blowing air horns and yelling and causing a ruckus that only Key West kids could do. Key West might have been a shit school, but just about every kid who went there was proud of their Conchs.

He and his friends had found a place to sit in the grass, away from the mass that, seemingly, was the rest of the high school near the in zone. They weren’t the best seats, but none of them really cared. Of them only Becca and Clay really cared about football. Shaun was only here because Becca had dragged him, though he complained about it plenty, saying this was a stupid American sport and he didn’t know why he had to come to this game played by a bunch of meat heads. Lucy was here because Clay was here, though she also liked the sport, as a passing thing though. And Desmond? Desmond freely admitted he just came for the uniforms. _That being said_ , he also did enjoy watching high schoolers beat the living hell out of each other.

Key West played defense first and Clay slid up next to him on the grass. Desmond gave him a side eyed look. “You’re thinking something stupid aren’t you?” Desmond asked.

“Not at all,” Clay said. “I was just wondering if you were coming to that party I’m DJing at tomorrow.”

“Where is it?”

“New Town, off of Flagler.”

“Yeah, sure, give me the address, I’ll be there. Lucy coming?”

“Nah, she’s got a thing. Grandparents or something.”” he flapped his hand a little at him as the players set up for the first play at the fifty yard line.

“Or _something_?” Desmond gave him a look.

“She just said it was a family thing okay? God don’t give me the third degree here.” Desmond just chuckled. “But you’ll come?”

“Yeah… why?” he narrowed his eyes at Clay who wasn’t looking at him but instead yelling as the ball was snapped and the Marathon offense pushed forward. The Key West line had their backs to this end zone and Desmond’s eyes found number 7, Altair, the inside backer, in the middle of the formation. Then his eyes darted to number 15 to his left who was actually _on_ the line, Malik. Desmond felt his stomach drop a little. Why was he considering flirting with Altair again? They could both destroy him if they felt like and as friends he knew they’d gang up on him.

Then the play ended, Marathon had advanced four yards.

“Sorry what?” Clay asked, turning back to him.

“Why are you being so sure I’ll come?”

“Cause I want someone there to help me,” Clay said. “I’ve never done this…”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Desmond promised as the ball was snapped again and Marathon slowly made their way down the field. They made first down, then second down, then third down, and were now at the seventeenth yard line. They were closer to Desmond and his friends were now and they were standing to see better.

Marathon’s forward momentum ended there though as number 23 caught a fumble, and now it was Key West’s turn to get on the offensive. Desmond _might_ have stared after number 7 as he walked towards their side lines.

“Dude, you have issues,” Clay informed him, following Desmond’s gaze to Altair’s butt.

“Shut up,” he hissed, embarrassed to have been caught. “You’re the one keeps encouraging me,” he added.

“Encouraging you?” Becca asked as the teams switched out offense and defense. Though Desmond saw plenty of guys on the Marathon side stay on the field, not a surprise, their school was less then half the size of Key West, they have player overlap.

“Nothing!” Desmond cried.

“Oh?” and Becca wormed her way over to him, “It is _so_ something,” she said and gave Clay a look. He just shrugged at her. Well at least he wasn’t a traitor. “C’mooon, tell me,” she encouraged.

“No, screw you,” and Desmond pushed her away moodily.

“Awww, c’mon Dessy, don’t be a spoil sport,” Becca said sweetly.

“Desmond’s got the hots for one of the football players,” Clay blurted out, looking like he’d _barely_ been holding it in. Desmond shot his friend a _flaming_ look and Clay just smiled apologetically.

“That’s it?” she asked, suddenly sounding disappointed. “Man I thought it was something juicy.” Clay just laughed and Desmond looked offended. “What?” she asked him, “I have hots for the football players-

“Hey!” Shaun cried, hearing them.

“They wear those tight pants and just make me want to die,” she continued.

“Becccaaa,” Shaun whined, obviously not enjoying Rebecca’s fantasies. And since it _was_ Becca they were probably sort of creepy. Desmond had seen her porn collection once- ON ACCIDENT HE SWORE TO GOD!- and it was full of super weird fetish porn. He didn’t know how Shaun dated her and wasn’t psychologically scarred from just their sex life. He didn’t ask, he didn’t _really_ want to know honestly.

“What?” Becca turned to her boyfriend, “Well I think you would hot in tight pants too so-

“Oh god that mental image,” Desmond pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes. “Bec _whyyyyyyyyy_?” he groaned. “I _did not_ need to picture Shaun in tight pants.”

“Screw you Desmond,” Shaun spat as a roar went up and they all perked up (even Shaun, and he claimed to hate football) in time to see the quarterback, number 10, Yusuf, throw the ball and was caught by one of their wide receivers ran to about the forty before getting tackled. The screaming on their side of the field was obscene as he’d just run about twenty yards.

“I don’t want to see you in tight pants _ever_ Shaun!” Desmond called over the cheering that he’d just previously been participating in.

“Well I wouldn’t mind!” Becca yelled back and laughed. Shaun just looked appropriately mortified.

—

It was the forth quarter now, Key West was up by five, but Marathon only needed one touch down to pull ahead. There was about three minutes left on the clock and Marathon had the ball. Needless to say the yelling at the blue jerseys was pretty ins tense from their side, wanting them to choke, or mess up, anything, to not get that last touch down.

Except they were near the end zone and Desmond and his friends had migrated to the opposite end to be closer to the parking lot once the game was over but that also meant they were _right_ at the line of scrimmage. Surprisingly few people were here too, though maybe that was because there was no where to sit here and people were lazy.

The ball snapped and before anything could happen the quarterback was sacked. There was an audible ‘OUUHH!’ of sympathy from both side’s bleachers as said quarterback was tackled to the ground by the outside linebacker. The ball slipped out of his hand, the linebacker grabbed it up and then he was just _running_. Their side of the field exploded in cheers, concern for the quarterback forgotten, and Marathon managed to catch him at the thirty yard line on the other end of the field.

Key West scored another touchdown in the next two minutes and then they sort of milled around the field a little as the clock sped down to zero. Either way the red side was going totally nuts with cheering.

The Conchs were celebrating too, smacking each other on the helmet and other various things jocks did when they won a display of masculinity. But now the game was over, it was hot out, and really Desmond was ready to go home. It was about an hour to get back home, hour and a half for anyone who actually _lived_ on Key West and it was late and this now sucked since he’d ridden here himself.

“I don’t wanna drive home,” he groaned, leaning against Lucy’s shoulder tiredly.

“Well do you _really_ want to leave your bike here?” Clay asked.

“Fuck no!”

“Exactly so stop compla-

Clay was cut off by a serious commotion coming from the field. They all turned to look and saw that several of the players from both teams had gotten into a fight. The rest of the team was quickly coming to stop them but when defense players decided they were apparently going to kill someone it wasn’t easy to stop them. He saw numbers 7 and 15 in the middle of it. “Oh shit,” Desmond heard himself say.

“Are they fucking serious! They’ll get kicked off the team for this,” Clay said.

“So what? Let ‘em,” Shaun said and then cowered when the other four of them turned and _glared_ at him. One did not wish football players ill in Key West, even if they were sort of dicks sometimes.

Eventually, the fight was broken up and two Marathon players and a Key West player had to be helped off the field. He noted that Altair was helping his teammate off the field though Desmond couldn’t see who it was. “Well,” Clay said, talking over the cacophony of voices now all around them, some yelling about the fight. “That was _not_ how I imagined this game to end,” he was surprisingly stoned faced.

“We’re so fucked this year,” Desmond groaned. “Goodbye tri county!”

Clay’s stoicism didn’t last (he was surprised it’d lasted that long honestly) “Look! Look!” he grabbed Desmond’s arm and Becca was looking over his other shoulder, fully into anything that would make Clay excited. He pointed and Desmond followed his line of sight to some of the Key West band kids checking on their fellow Conchs. The fighting Conchs and marching Conchs had an amazingly good relationship and the football team actually respected the marching band for spending more time on the field then even they did at times.

“What?”

“Number ten, look,” Clay shook him and Desmond looked harder.

“You have to be kidding! How do you do that?” Becca demanded looking at Clay accusingly.

“Do what?” Desmond still didn’t get it.

“Are you blind? Lucy, please tell me you see it,” Becca huffed to the blonde.

“I try not to get wrapped up in Clay’s conspiracy theories and gossip mill,” Lucy said, holding up both hands. “I’m sort of afraid if I give into them he’ll call me at two in the morning about them.”

“He won’t,” Desmond put in, “I trained that out of him for you in freshman year. He’d call me _at four_.”

“Oh so you do have other uses then just that you’re freakishly tall,” Lucy teased him. He made a face at her.

“That, look, oh my god Desmond if they leave before you see I’m going to kill you,” and Clay pointed more forcefully at the Key West quarterback. There was a guy in a marching uniform standing in front of him, he was short and had a close beard and…

“How the fuck did you _know that_?” Desmond looked at his friend with a look of amazement since that was Rauf clearly making sure Yusuf was all right. And not in a quick ‘you okay?’ sort of way either.

“Because I’m awesome!” and Clay punched the air.

“I think it’s cute!” Becca declared. “Band boy and a jock,” she cooed and then slid off Clay’s shoulder. “Practically a tomboy and a nerd,” she said sweetly to Shaun, who looked upset about being ignored so far, and kissed his cheek. He forgave her instantly because it was Shaun and he was the biggest push over imaginable. He looked away when they kissed because holy shit where they the two most grossly affectionate people he’d ever met in his life.

“Well, excitement’s over. I’ve been proven right, yet again, we won, good night I think,” Clay declared. At that Lucy leaned over and said something Desmond couldn’t hear, “And about to get better!”

“Ew,” and Desmond untangled himself from his friend, Lucy just looked amused and was more then happy to slide under Clay’s arm. “Uhg. I’m the only single one here, this is gross, I’m leaving,” he groaned because he was suddenly that weird third wheel with two different relationships. Clay laughed at him and Shaun and Becca were ignoring them now, but saying they were going as well.

“I’ll send you the directions tomorrow!” Clay called after him.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll be there,” Desmond called and headed in the opposite direction of the main parking lot, as he’d parked his bike in the bus loop on the other side of the school. Unlike the others who had parked down Sombrero and now had to walk to their cars. 

As he walked he asked himself why he didn’t have a boyfriend. The answer was _blindingly_ clear. It was because he had both high standards, and apparently awful taste in men. Awful taste being he was constantly attracted to straight men. Well… okay, not _all_ of them were straight, and Altair’s ass looked really good in those football pants. He was putting on his helmet as he walked, thinking it all over. Being around his friends was going to be insufferable now. Becca and Shaun were always disgusting and touchy feely and gross amounts of PDA all the time and he could tell in just this week that Lucy and Clay were going to be sweet and cute together. Before it had been okay because Clay and Lucy were both single. But now they were together and Desmond was that weird fifth wheel.

“Uhg,” he groaned and held his helmet with the heels of his hands, putting on his sunglasses for wind protection as he got to his baby. “Stop thinking with your dick oh my god you’re such a dude,” Desmond sighed to himself. ‘And don’t settle for the first guy who’ll pin you to the mattress,’ he added to himself mentally even as his brain brought up the fact that Altair could do that _amazingly well_. Nope. Nope. Nope. In a relationship for more then sex. Or that’s what he told himself as he tried to leave the parking lot.


	15. Chapter 15

181 hours

The party was fucking boring. Desmond was never coming to another party again he swore to god. The only good part about it was Clay, but that was just because Clay made everything more interesting in general. But it was a lot of kids and a lot of booze and really not a lot to do. Clay just had his iPod on, playing a playlist, and not even doing anything interesting. Really the most interesting thing that was happening was a game of beer pong in the dining room.

Desmond leaned against his friend, “Remind me why you made me come here?” Desmond groaned over the music, some LMFAO monstrosity.

“Because I thought it’d be interesting,” Clay sighed.

“You’re getting paid for this?”

“Fifty bucks,” he proclaimed proudly.

“Wow they’re getting scalped so hard.”

“Yeah, I know right? You’d think it’d be more interesting then this,” he sighed. “Go get me another drink,” he ordered and pushed Desmond off him. Desmond stumbled to his feet a little. There was really little to do but drink at this party, at least at Ezio’s people danced and at some point he was sure he’d seen a game of SSBB going on on the big flat screen the play boy had. There was nothing like that. Just beer pong and _wow_ was that fucking boring. Or it was for Desmond since he was good at it, he had excellent hand eye coordination, even when absolutely shit faced. Once he’d beaten an entire team and was nearly black out drunk. He only knew he’d won because Clay had told him after, as it was he only knew he’s _played_ because Clay had told him afterwards!

He went to the drink table and grabbed one of the bottles of Capt and a two liter of Coke and went back to where Clay had set up by the sound system and poured Coke into most of the cup Clay had and then poured about five seconds of Capt into the Coke. He then poured the same for him. He didn’t even care about getting drunk, even drunk this party wouldn’t be any more interesting. “Cheers,” he said blandly to Clay.

“To fifty bucks,” and he tapping their red cups together.

“You should play some music _we_ like,” Desmond said after a few songs. “Cause these are awful, and it isn’t like anyone seems to care either.”

“Like?”

“I was thinking Kabuto,” Desmond said mildly.

“Oooo, I like the way you think.”

“Or maybe some Scurvy Crew? And I always like Z-One,” he added.

“I think we’ll let them off easy,” Clay chuckled and Desmond saw him scroll through his iTouch to a mixing app. Desmond wasn’t quite sure _how_ he did it. “We’ll go with something that’ll sound familiar.” And Desmond nearly laughed out loud when DualShAwks started playing over some stupid Lady GaGa song.

“Yes, fucking classic,” Desmond said approvingly and Clay sped the song up a little since DualShAwks was a bit of a slow dance song.

“Seriously, nothing is better then Doc Awk,” Clay agreed.

“I’m still a Kabuto fan,” Desmond said.

“Kabuto’s fine. But _Doc Awk_ ,” and they both laughed at that and Clay then started to free mix DualShAwks and Swaggerjacking since clearly Clay knew Desmond’s favorite song _was_ Swaggerjacking. They were both slow and tasted like original 80s hip hop without talk of money, bitches, or drinking, but sped up a little and mixed together by Clay with a little of Red Queen added on top for some Resident Evil sounds thrown in it went amazing.

A few people noticed, no one commented though and Clay continued to remix Nerd Corps songs with rather amazing results actually. Then eventually he just stopped and played the Bassnectar remix of Lights because the song was flawless and anyone who thought otherwise would get a personal talking to with Desmond’s fist. Okay maybe not _that_ extreme, but he really liked the song.

As the music played they continued to drink and finished off the last quarter of the bottle of Capt and the bottle of Coke on their own without too much difficulty. It was around midnight when Clay left him to keep the tracks going and maybe play with the mixing app he’d bought, while he went to the bathroom. Desmond popped in a headphone and fiddled with a song by Metric, but never pushed it to play, he ended up fucking it up anyway. Then Clay came back and actually showed, drunkenly mind you, how to work the app. Desmond remembered exactly none of it.

Clay played more Nerd Corps, even just playing straight Kabuto and Dr. Awkward and ZeaLous1, no one said anything about the music. The party was boring and no one danced even when Clay decided to play dancing music. It was just a lot of people sitting around, drinking, and talking. Wow how fucking lame.

“Next time,” Desmond said, it was one, “make sure the party is _interesting_ before demanding I come. Holy shit this is way worse then Ezio’s party. I haven’t been to one this boring since we had to call the cops on the people down the street because they were setting things on fire.”

“Well, we could-

“We’re not setting things on fire,” Desmond sighed.

“Damn.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me,” and then he realized he had to piss really bad. “I’ll be back, try not to die of boredom,” and he patted Clay’s knee.

“I’m ganna be leaving soon anyway. I said I’d stay at least till one, calling a cab.”

“Right-o, be right back,” and he picked himself up off the floor where they’d been sitting and maneuvered himself through the party to the bathroom. It was occupied by someone who was busy throwing up their intestinal track. He was honestly about to knock when the most disgusting round of puke hitting water reached his ears and he did an about face and walked outside, since there was only one bathroom in the house.

The houses here on Flagler were pretty close together, but they still had back yards. This one was pretty much empty except for a few lawn chairs. No one was out here though since it was hot outside. All the better though since Desmond couldn’t pee with someone potentially watching him. He went to the fence and did his business with a sigh, humming to himself a little.

Behind him he heard angry arguing. “You’re drunk, go home.”

“Fuck you.”

“No really. You’re going home before you break something.”

Oh goodie. He finished quickly, not wanting to get caught in whatever was going to happen. “Fine,” they groaned. “I’ll leave,” and he heard some muttering as he zipped himself back up. “Where my keys?”

“Woah, no, you aren’t driving you fucking kidding me? You can barely walk Altair,” his head turned as he went to the door and he saw them in the drive way. It was Altair and some other guy, he wasn’t quite sure at this distance though.

“Then what?” he grumbled.

“Call a cab, or something, I dunno. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Altair grumbled and pulled out his phone, “I’ll… I’ll call a cab.”

“You do that,” and then they left Altair in the drive way by himself. Desmond stood there, looking at him, illuminated in the light of the porch and after a second realize he was _shaking._ Desmond didn’t know what was up but he knew it wasn’t good. He cast a quick look at the back door, Clay was waiting inside for him. But he wouldn’t leave without him, hell he probably wouldn’t leave the house until the cab was there. “God damnit,” he heard Altair say and something clattered to the ground. He looked to see Altair bend down to pick up his phone where he’d dropped it and promptly fell.

“Shit,” he cursed, too much of a nice guy to just leave someone who was _clearly_ too drunk to stand on his own, and went over to Altair, pushing open the gate and went to the driveway. Altair was on the pavement looking very confused as to how he got there. “Altair?” he asked as he neared the older boy.

Altair looked up, his hands around his phone and in his lap, looking drunk, confused, dazed, amazingly vulnerable. Wow what an asshole leaving Altair alone when very obviously he was drunk and not in his right mind. He blinked at Desmond confusedly. “Altair,” he hunkered down in front of Altair. Altair closed his eyes and let out a long breath, “Altair, it’s Desmond,” he prompted.

Altair opened his eyes again and looked at Desmond and for some reason Desmond blushed. Which was _ridiculous!_ He shouldn’t be blushing! Literally nothing was happening, but he was. “Miles?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s me, Desmond Miles,” he babbled, “Are you okay?”

“I… am really drunk,” he said.

“Yeah, I didn’t notice,” he said sarcastically.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this drunk before.”

“I dunno you were pretty drunk last week,” Desmond said and now when he _had_ a reason to blush he wasn’t.

“Yeah, but I remember that. I don’t want to remember tonight, or yesterday,” his head rolled on his neck a moment before it hung.

“Why?” Desmond found himself asking. “You guys won yesterday,” he reminded him.

Altair gave a drunken, angry, giggle and suddenly Desmond was being grabbed by the front of his shirt and pulled close by a suddenly drunk and angry Altair. “Because I got kicked off the team,” he growled at him through his teeth.

“O-oh, yeah,” and Desmond tried to pull Altair’s hand off him because he didn’t want to get punched tonight. Getting punched was the last thing he wanted right now actually. “I imagine that would suck a lot,” he agreed.

Altair stared at him and he saw the momentary rage leave him and he seemed confused again. Like he didn’t understand why Desmond was suddenly so close. He let Desmond go. Oh good. “You’re going home?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah,” Altair said softly, looking down at his phone in his hands like he didn’t know what to do with it. Then he looked back up at Desmond, “Want to come with me?” he asked, like it was no big deal.

Desmond, appropriately, blushed. “No,” he said, his voice an entire octave higher then normal.

Altair gave a long sigh and looked down, “Course not,” he muttered to himself.

“Here, let me call you a cab,” Desmond said and reached for Altair’s phone. The other boy didn’t stop him and he picked it up only to find it locked. “You sober enough to unlock your phone?” he asked, since it was one of those pattern locks. Altair traced his finger across the screen and the phone vibrated, unlocking. Desmond then stared at the phone in his hand, he knew that most kids his age lived by their phones. Fuck _he_ lived by his phone. He didn’t use it 24/7, but it had all the important stuff on it, and he felt a bit anxious without it on him because of the stuff he had on it. Potentially, he was holding part of Altair’s life in his hands.

He wasn’t strong enough _not_ to go through some of the pictures. It was horribly weak of him but Altair was so fucking _gone_ he wouldn’t remember anyway. He honestly had just intended to call the drunk kid a cab, but now he had Altair’s Droid in his hand and fuck it.

He had a boring amount of apps, nothing interesting except for a Pokedex app (what?) and the nyancat game that really stuck out as ‘weird’. The rest was standard, boring, apps. He opened the gallery and was surprised at it’s organization. There was an entire folder of ‘friends’ and also food he ate and that was weird. He scrolled through those rapidly but didn’t linger on them before finding his way to the main folder of unsorted pictures.

In that one he saw pictures from tonight, blurred images, kids playing beer pong, people smiling and laughing, a few images with him and Clay in the background talking and drinking. Then clearly of last night showing off a big bruise on Altair’s side he’d taken in a mirror and then one of Malik who had a black eye though was smiling. Huh. He didn’t think he ever saw Malik smile _ever_ , even in his school pictures. Well that was _weird_. Pictures of school followed, more food, girls, and boys from school, white boards with homework assignments written on them. 

He passed all this very quickly and then. He came to the last one. Clearly Altair cleaned out his photos every week or so because that was the only _logical explanation_ for why a picture of Desmond _sleeping in Altair’s bed_ was the last picture in Altair’s main folder. He looked at the drunk kid in question and then just _stared_ at him. ‘Wanna come with me?’ rang in his head and _oh my god!_ He was going to murder Clay for having some sort of freaky ESP or something!

“The cab coming?” Altair asked him, squinting at him.

“Yeah, I have an iPhone, trying to figure out your Droid,” he lied. Altair ‘mm’d and slouched again on the pavement. Not quite knowing why he sent the picture to himself and then deleted the text once he actually got it and then called the tiny Key West cab company. He’d called them enough when he was drunk to just know the number as now he just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

“Key West taxi,” said the man on the other end.

“Hi, I need a cab for my friend, he’s drunk.”

“What’s the address?” Desmond told him, “Someone’s on the way.”

“Thanks,” and he hung up and turned off the screen. “Cab’s on it’s way.”

“Okay,” Altair said tiredly.

“I’ll be right back, all right?”

“Okay,” Altair said again.

“You’re not like… going to die on me are you?” and Altair shook his head, making his ears flap. “Okay,” and then he darted into the house and found Clay, practically running into his friend.

“Hey there you are,” Clay said. “Cab’s on the way.”

“Yeah, great,” Desmond said, “Dude… I _so_ have to show you something.”

“Could you make it sound a little less rapey maybe?”

“Oh my god Clay! Is your stuff all together?” Clay nodded and Desmond dragged him out of the house.

“Is that Altair?” he asked once they were outside.

“Yes, he’s drunk I called him a cab, he can have ours and we’ll wait for his now focus,” and he pushed Clay away from the door.

“Okay… Desmond what is-“ then his brows rose when Desmond shoved his phone under Clay’s nose. “Why are you showing me a picture of you sleeping?” 

“Dude, I used Altair’s phone to call the cab cause I’m dumb and forgot I had one and I’m a horrible, weak, stalker apparently and went through it-

“No no,” Clay interrupted, “I approve of this,” he said in a very serious tone.

“ _This was on Altair’s phone_ ,” he hissed.

He watched his friend’s face change, his mouth dropping open in a smile and looked at Altair still on the pavement, head down, shoulders bowed forward, looking like he’d fallen asleep standing up. “No shit,” Clay said delightfully. “Well, my dear buddy,” he continued. “I am now going to be insanely upset with you if you do not manage to nab yourself some of that hot Arab ass,” he was informed as a cab pulled up.

“Oh my god I can’t believe you really said that. We’ll finish this in a second,” and he went over to Altair and shook him because he was sleeping. “Altair, cab’s here,” he said firmly, “time to go home.”

“Right,” Altair grumbled.

“Clay, help me,” he called.

“God damnit why do I-

“ _Get over here_ and help me,” Desmond snapped.

“Fiiiine,” and they managed to pull Altair to his feet with only a bit of difficulty. Once he was vertical it was easier since standing meant awake and he could mostly walk himself to the car. Clay opened the door and Desmond shoved him in, being nice enough to put him in a safety belt as Clay told the cabbie where Altair lived (Desmond didn’t want to know how Clay knew that) and then closed the door.

“And he’s good for it?” the cabbie was asking, jerking his thumb at Altair in the back seat.

“Hell yeah he’s good for it,” Clay assured him. “Just smack him a little or something when you get there to wake him up.”

“All right,” the cabbie didn’t seem too sure. But he pulled away as another was pulling up. He and Clay got into the back seat of that one.

“Going to crash with me?” Clay asked him.

“Yeah, can I?”

“After a revelation like that I might have to force you,” Clay joked and told their cab his address. Desmond chuckled and unlocked his phone as Clay talked, mainly about how he was right about everything and Desmond should _really_ listen to him more. He wasn’t really listening though. He was sort of just marveling at the picture of himself, the one from Altair’s phone. Okay. This could work out.


	16. Chapter 16

1 and 52 hours

Nothing interesting had happened at lunch, though apparently Ezio’s girlfriend had broken up with him, a two weeks before the closest bet of how long she’d last. It was because of what had happened that weekend. And of course, since it was Clay, and Clay knew god damn _everything_ , they all heard what had happened.

Friday, after the game, there had been a fight between the Key West defense, and the Marathon offense, a _real_ fight. One kid from Marathon had a broken nose, the rest was all just bruises, things that would heal. It reminded Desmond of the picture he’d seen on Altair’s phone of him and Malik all bruised up. But what had been the consequence of that was that Key West had lost three of it’s players because of fighting. Altair, Malik, and a kid named Johnny who was one of their wide receivers, had been kicked off the team. They’d effectively lost their power house defensive line and one of their receivers. It didn’t look good for Key West.

But beyond that, back to the original story of Ezio and girlfriend-of-the-year-number-three, on Saturday apparently some of the team and some had met some Dolphins by accident. As it wasn’t during school time the fight couldn’t be really counted. But the Conchs had made the Dolphins feel the pain of loosing two key members of their defensive line and a receiver. He didn’t know if Marathon had lost any members. But the fight was what caused Ezio and girlfriend-of-the-year-number-three to break up as she didn’t like that Ezio fought.

So that was the story of how pancake-face Ezio became single again. And Clay got to keep all the money cause he was the bookie and everyone lost; except him and Desmond honestly couldn’t help but wonder if Clay knew this was going to happen.

Now it was time for chem though and as soon as he stepped into the classroom he forgot about Ezio and girlfriend-of-the-year-number-three. Now he had to deal with chemistry. His eyes went unbiddenly to Altair, who was at his desk. Malik was there too, leaning against it and they were talking and looking at something in Altair’s binder. Desmond decided he didn’t want to know and sat next to Caterina.

“Hey,” he said in a friendly tone as he sat. She just looked sour. “Should I just pretend not to exist this week?” he asked her carefully.

“Did you hear about Ezio?” she demanded.

“Uh… yeah,” he said slowly. “Clay told me.”

“Then you know he’s a fucking animal.”

Desmond stared at her, “What…?”

“Uhg,” she just said in disgust and muttered something about ‘all men are the same’. Desmond edged away from her a little and his eyes went to Altair again. He could only see the back of his head and a bit of the side as he talked to Malik, who just before the bell rang straightened and quickly left. The teacher started class and Desmond payed about seventy-five percent of his attention to the teacher. The other twenty-five went to looking at Altair and the back of his head. 

He had issues okay? He knew this and had just stopped denying it. Better then being in denial because that got him no where and he still 1. wanted to get laid, and 2. wanted a boyfriend. Maybe not in that order but he wanted both those things and over the weekend he’d started to entertain the idea that he could get them both in one guy. He was being _painfully_ optimistic to the point of pure fantasy but that didn’t mean he didn’t _really_ like the idea of it.

Desmond started and nearly fell out of his chair when the the bell suddenly rang. He’d been day dreaming admittedly. Next to him he heard Caterina huff and finish packing her bag before getting up. Desmond quickly stuffed his own bag and was getting ready to leave when someone came up in front of his desk. He glanced up from his bag and did his best to not turn crimson. Altair was standing in front of his desk, bag over one shoulder.

“Hey Miles,” he said easily. Shit what if he remembered Saturday?

“Hi,” he said and then had to clear his throat, “hey what’s up?” he wondered if he sounded as painfully obvious to Altair as it did to him.

“Are you free after school?” and every stupid, bad, porn scenario flashed through his head in three seconds.

“Uh, maybe.”

“You available to tutor me?”

Oh. Oh _right_. _That_. Desmond had to stop letting his over active imagination get the better of him. “I thought you were only available Wednesdays?” and Altair glared knives at him.

“I don’t have football practice,” Altair said, his words tight and clipped as they fell off his tongue.

“Oh… right,” touchy subject. “Well I have work today but I can stay for an hour or so if you want,” he shrugged helplessly. “Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll see you after school,” and then he was gone. Desmond stared after him for a few seconds. Then he remembered he had English and practically fell out of his chair to get to class before the bell. His English teacher didn’t like him and he was on the edge of getting a D. No need to tempt fate by being late. Plus he still needed enough time to get to his chair and text Clay.

—

They were meeting in the library this time, because the classroom they would have been using was occupied. The Key West library was freakishly small with only about five double sided rows of books, a about ten computers, and a few tables. The back of the library was a glass wall with two tables for kids to work at. The librarian was also _terrifying_. Desmond had only been here a few times since he’d started going here and it in general people didn’t like coming here because the librarian would side-eye you so hard you developed a nervous tick.

Desmond was waiting for Mr. Sunshine to show up in one of the back tables, twiddling his pencil boredly. He had flashcards and the chemistry book and his notebook and an extra pen. All the things he’d needed last week, which had mainly comprised of Altair writing down words and definitions, Desmond seeing that Altair’s handwriting was shit and rewriting them so they were actually legible. That had made Altair scowl at him, but Desmond had just scowled right back.

He thought maybe they’d do diagrams the hour before he had to go get ready for work. Atomic diagrams and electron graphs. Desmond didn’t like ‘em, but their mid term would be on them he was sure. 

With a groan he hung his head back irritably. He’d been here ten minutes and Altair was a no show. They’d met at the previous room they used on Wednesday, and said they’d meet here after being kicked out. Now ten minutes had passed and he was getting annoyed. He ruffled his own hair and slumped forward now, propping his head up on his fists, pouting towards the window.

He turned quickly when the chair across from him moved and watched Altair slide into it. “Took you long enough,” Desmond said, letting his mood be obvious. “You get lost?”

“Sorry I had to put out a fire,” Altair said, in an equally irritable.

“Whatever,” Desmond huffed, “So, you doing good with those flash cards?” by Altair’s guilty face Desmond knew he hadn’t even _looked_ at them. “At least tell me you have them,” he sighed.

“Yeah,” and Altair dug into his backpack, pulling out the halved flash cards.

“Good. I thought maybe we’d do something interesting since you _should_ know most of these by now. But, since you don’t, we’re ganna review.”

“How are you so evil?” Altair asked, making a face at him.

“Hey buddy, this ain’t for me. I know what’s on the cards,” and he held up the first one. Altair got it wrong. He got the next six wrong too. The eight one he got right though, followed by another dozen wrong. They went through the entire stack twice, Altair only knew about five of them.

Desmond ran both his hands through his hair with a groan, “You’re killing me.”

“I told you I was bad at this,” Altair said, “I _am_ failing this class.”

Desmond checked his phone, they still had a half hour, as Altair’s flash cards stack was _massive_. “Okay,” he sighed. “This time you’re ganna read the definition and tell me the word.”

Altair stared at him, “I can’t even spell most of those words, you want me to say them?”

“All right then smart guy why don’t you come up with a good idea?” Desmond grumbled. He was irritated about having to deal with a dumb jock, so sue him! Why had he thought Altair was good boyfriend material again? He’d literally drive himself insane with how stupid he was.

“I dunno,” Altair shrugged, “Flash cards don’t really work for me.”

“So what do you do?”

“Pray.”

Desmond stared at him for several seconds, “You just made a joke didn’t you?”

“It was bad wasn’t it?” Altair said making a slightly apologetic face.

“Awful,” and that made them both chuckle. “Okay,” he ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. “How do you usually study?”

“I don’t.”

“You don’t study?”

“This and English are the only classes I’m bad in,” Altair shrugged. “Everything else just… clicks,” and he snapped his fingers.

“Okay… just for reference, what’s your GPA?”

“Last year it was four point three.”

Dumb jock? _Dumb. Jock?_ He had a fucking four point three! Not even Desmond’s grade was that high, and he was ranked in the top five of his class. That meant… shit that meant Altair was ranked higher then him. “So what’s the problem this year?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound impressed or slightly turned on. Before Altair had just been stupidly good looking. Now he was stupidly good looking, smart, and one of those assholes who didn’t have to study.

“Senioritus?” Altair shrugged.

“So are you doing bad in your other classes?”

“A bit. Not like chem though.”

“And English?”

“I’m a native Arabic, Spanish speaker,” Altair said, “English is my third language,” and Desmond had thing _very_ unsexy thoughts with that revelation. “So yeah, I always get Bs in it.” Bs. Like Bs were _bad_.

“Okay. So how do you learn stuff?”

“Doing it,” and that took Desmond’s brain out of shallow water and straight to swimming with the sharks. This guy was going to kill him. “Or writing it down.”

“Are you better at doing stuff in Spanish?” Altair nodded, “ _Well I can kinda speak Spanish_ ,” he said and Altair laughed at him. “What?” he demanded.

“You sound _awful_ ,” Altair said.

“Not everyone is multilingual okay?” Desmond grumbled. “But would it help? I mean I’m getting extra credit for how well you do in class so it’s in my best interest for you to do good.”

“Might,” Altair said. “But I don’t do visual aides, they don’t work.”

“Okay,” Desmond said slowly, “What you’re a tactile, auditory guy?” Altair nodded. “Okay,” he said again thinking, “Then we’ll do like flash cards. Only no flash cards,” Altair rose a brow at him. “I’ll tell you a word, you tell me the definition, Spanish if you want.” Altair nodded. “Okay first one is,” he looked down at the flash card, “ _Activation energy._ ”

Altair got more this way around, and when he missed them Desmond just told him the answer. If he could he said the words or definitions in Spanish, though that happened much less, and whenever he did Altair would smirk, probably finding his accent insanely amusing. Half an hour _flew_ by and Altair started getting more and more words right.

Then Desmond’s alarm went off, not too loud though. “And that’s my cue to go,” Desmond said swiping it silent.

“Go?” Altair asked.

“Yeah. I have work.”

“Oh. Where do you work?”

“Bobalu’s,” he said putting his things into his back pack.

“So, tomorrow?” Altair asked. “Can you tutor me again?”

“Uh… I have club tomorrow,” Desmond said awkwardly. “And don’t you have things to do?” Altair didn’t answer him, Desmond eyed him, “Don’t you?”

“I kinda… need something to do during football practice. My gramps doesn’t know I got kicked off the team.”

There was a long silence and Desmond wanted to tear all the skin of his face off. Altair kept yo-yoing to the top and then the bottom of his ‘fuck me now’ list. Now Desmond was just an excuse to not go home, and to wuss out about telling someone they’d been kicked off a team. “O—kay,” Desmond said, eyeing Altair now with a bit of distrust. “Wednesday. Find something else to do tomorrow,” Altair frowned at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” and then he grabbed his bag and was gone, leaving before Altair could say another word.


	17. Chapter 17

1 and 102 hours

Desmond watched Clay’s ceiling fan spin. It was on full speed to help circulate the air with all the windows closed, the AC turned up since it was still warm out even though it was November. It didn’t actually get cool in Florida till mid December, with some cold snaps here and there, though never enough to see your breath. Right now they were suffering a mini heat wave. He was lying on Clay’s bed, arms out by his sides, legs hanging off the bed. He’d just come over after studying with Altair.

“Clay,” he said, Clay was at his desk doing homework.

“Yeah, good buddy?” Clay asked, hunched over his Physics homework.

“Am I just unattractive?”

Clay sat back and turned to look at him, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“Say it again, I have a hearing problem when it comes to stupidity.”

“Am I just not attractive to guys?” he pouted at Clay a little. “I mean it isn’t like a secret that I’m gay,” though he wasn’t public about it either. It just didn’t actually matter that he was out and didn’t make a big deal of it. The people who mattered knew.

“Well I think you’re attractive-

“Claaaaaay,” Desmond groaned.

“What do you want me to say?” Clay huffed. “Shaun’s as straight as an arrow and do you actually want to have to ask your parents about it?”

“Uhg, god no, please,” Desmond said and rolled onto his stomach.

“Exactly.”

Desmond sighed, “It’s just… he’s _so_ hot, and I’m _so_ frustrated,” and Clay laughed at him. “Not funny!” he cried.

“You kidding? It’s fucking hilarious.”

“Shut up,” Desmond grabbed one of Clay’s pillows with a miserable groan. “He’s smart, really fucking hot, could probably bench press me, and can speak three languages. Only a moron wouldn’t want that.”

“He is pretty much the whole package isn’t he?” Desmond sent him a look, “I knew it!” Clay cried.

Now Desmond laughed, “Don’t go over imagining,” he said. “He’s pretty big but not like… porn star big.”

“Oh good. Some porn stars have _terrifyingly_ huge dicks,” Clay made a face. “How’d today go?”

“Okay, I guess,” Desmond practically said into Clay’s pillow and bent his legs into the air.

“So you flirted with him?”

“A little. He’s still chemistry illiterate. I don’t know why he’s in the AP class.”

“Credits.”

“I think it’s more that he’s taken all the others… that is really hot actually,” he added.

Clay closed his eyes with a sigh, “I do not need to know about your nerd boners Desmond.”

“Liar. You love knowing everything, including what turns me and our friends on cause you’re fucking weird.” Clay shot him a dirty look. “Brains are wicked sexy,” he said smugly.

“Which is funny since you aren’t using yours,” Desmond threw a pillow at him.

“I just wanna have sex is that too much to ask?” Desmond huffed as Clay shot the pillow down. “I haven’t gotten laid since I was a freshman,” not Clay, another guy, equally as hot as Altair but actually dumb as a box of bricks with a rope fetish. That had been interesting.

“You have a hand don’t you?”

“And you know how helpful _that_ is,” Clay grinned. “Don’t look at me like that, I know _you_ have sex on a regular basis now that you have a girlfriend.”

“Threesomes still open.”

“No.”

“Just sayin’, you’re the one who’s complaining about wanting sex.”

“Not with you. God.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what I mean. You’re just not my type.”

“I am everybody’s type,” Clay declared.

“Not a fan of blondes actually,” Desmond smirked.

“Liar.”

“Nope. I like black haired guys.”

“Like Altair.”

“Yes,” and Desmond shoved his head into the pillow. Clay laughed. “I actually like ‘em tall, dark, and handsome, and not just saying that.”

“You’re acting like a girl right now you know. A love sick one.”

“Screw you-

“Please-

“Shut up Clay. And I’m allowed okay? Part of the being gay thing, I’m allowed to have feminine moments.”

“And yet you’re the least gay and feminine gay man I’ve ever met. We could go down to the Eight-oh-One if you wanted to see that.”

“Oh don’t even start, those girls are _fabulous_ ,” and Clay laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe when Desmond used a higher pitched tone and actually gave a sassy finger snap. Desmond grinned.

“I wish I had a video camera,” Clay wheezed. Once he’d gotten himself under control he said, “And I just had a thought. You want to get laid, why not go to the Eight-oh-One.”

“Oh, I dunno, cause I’m a _minor_ ,”Desmond gave him a look.

“You don’t have an I.D.?”

“My driver’s license yeah-

“Oh my God,” Clay interrupted. “Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t have a fake I.D.?”

“Cause I go to clubs _all_ the time,” Desmond said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

“How do you buy drinks though?”

“Uh… I don’t usually. I just go to parties and drink other people’s liquor.”

“Give me a week, I’ll have a fake I.D. for you. Early Christmas present.”

“Yeah but Clay-

“I’m tired of hearing you whining about chasing Altair, kay? Mainly cause we both want you to get laid so maybe you can get some courage to flirt with him seriously. Now do you wanna just be legal or twenty-one?” he asked.

“Just legal. I don’t want an excuse to drink.”

“Okay,” Clay nodded.

“You really expect me to go to the Eight-oh-One?”

“I’ll come if you want.”

“What if drag queens hit on me?”

“Isn’t the point of going to gay bars of being hit on by gay guys?”

“Drag queens and gay guys are in completely different categories. Like queens and transexuals are,” he pointed out. “There are queens, and there are guys _into_ queens.”

“What if Altair dressed in drag?”

There was a very long silence, “I think I just got an anti boner,” and Clay laughed. It wasn’t that Desmond disliked drag queens, he just didn’t like them like _that_. “ _God_ can you imagine that?” Desmond asked.

“Yes actually,” Clay said, way too amused. “It is so weird cause he’s got such a defined jaw, and abs.”

“Don’t remind me,” Desmond sighed. “But you’ll come with me? If I go to Eight-oh-One?”

“Suuuure. We could go to Aqua or the Bourbon if that made you feel any better? Or La Te Da-

“My _mom_ goes to La Te Da,” Desmond said, Clay wrinkled his nose.

“Yeah that’s a no. But really, Bourbon or Aqua if the Eight-oh-One makes you nervous.”

“Aqua has a cover,” Desmond pointed out.

“So the Bourbon, not like we’ll be drinking,” he shrugged. “Hopefully you’ll get lucky.”

“Just not with some old weirdo.”

“Well I’ll be there and what else is a best bro for if not to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

“Just don’t expect me to kiss you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it-

“Except you do,” Clay snorted.

“I dream about kissing someone else thanks.” Desmond grumbled into the pillow. “I’m sorry what?”

“You assholes and your stupid PDA,” Desmond bitched, meaning not just Clay and Lucy but also Shaun and Rebecca (who were awful when it came to PDA it was actually kinda gross sometimes.)

“Well, get a boyfriend! You have work tomorrow again?”

“Yeah.”

“Still coming to volley ball?”

“Yeah, for a while,” he sighed.

“Great. Try to keep your eyes in your head when Altair takes off his shirt,” and Desmond threw the other pillow at Clay’s head. It hit dead on.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [new fanmix](http://tinyurl.com/aknxhbc%20)

1 and 126 hours

There were more people at the volleyball thing then there had been two weeks ago when Desmond had first gone. But then since then he’d seen flyers advertising the new thing hung up around school. One with a boy and a girl on it in just their bathing suits, fighting over a volley ball.

He heard Clay talking to everyone but Desmond wasn’t listening. He was moody. His job had called and said he wasn’t coming in today. He was now only working Sunday mornings and Saturday nights. That was good he supposed, though he liked having more hours then that. Apparently they didn’t like him asking for two weeks off in December when he and his family were going up to South Dakota to spend Christmas and New Years with the extended Miles family.

Because of the size of the group and the limited number of nets the games were nearly strictly tournament style so everyone had a chance to play. Clay declared team captains and Desmond stood in the back of the group sulking. It was for that reason Clay overlooked him and didn’t pick him. In fact, quite a few other people were picked before anyone noticed Desmond’s tall ass in the back.

“Miles,” and his head lifted a bit to see who’d called him. “You’re with me,” Ezio said. Desmond slipped out from the back to Ezio’s team and Clay was staring at him like ‘you didn’t tell me you were here dofus!’ Desmond didn’t really care though. He was sort of only half here and with it. The rest was sulking over his lost hours.

Finally all the kids had been divided up. Clay had a white board with the names of the captains on it saying who would go against who. Desmond’s team wasn’t playing first though and Desmond sat on the sand out of sand kicking range. He was honestly surprised by the number of people here. There had to be some catch.

He started when several someones dropped down onto the sand next to him. Altair was next to him, Ezio next to him, and a few football players too. Then someone sat on his other side, Malik. Oh… uh… oh this was _super_ uncomfortable.

They didn’t say anything to him though and watched the games going on. Ezio and Altair talked. At least the atmosphere wasn’t oppressive and weird. Desmond still felt awkward sitting between the guy he was having wet dreams about and said guy’s best friend. “Hey,” Altair suddenly said and it took Desmond two seconds he wasn’t talking to him. It was obvious when Malik turned and looked at his friend. Altair said something in Arabic. Malik snorted a laugh and cast a glance at Desmond who was doing his best to pretend they weren’t having an exchange physically over him. Malik said something back, smirking and at Altair’s reply Malik laughed properly, though still keeping it pretty contained, not like how Clay laughed. Somehow Desmond got the feeling Malik was laughing at something Altair had said _about him_. 

Oh that was a wonderful thought. Just… wonderful. Secret conversations in Arabic. He’d learned Spanish so people couldn’t talk about him behind his back, but this was just mean. Like he wasn’t in a bad enough mood already the guy he had a crush on was mocking him in another language no doubt.

Fuck it.

He got up from where he was sitting, dusted off his ass and then walked away from them. He heard them continue to talk in Arabic but Desmond was ignoring them because to hell with them both. He knew the volleyball games could last a while though, and truthfully, he wasn’t that into it. He was here because Clay had asked him to come, and as he was a supportive friend here he was

Of the three main, public, beaches in Key West Smathers was the biggest. It was also manmade, which anyone who lived here wouldn’t be surprised about. When people thought of the Caribbean they thought of dotted islands covered in palm trees, tiki huts, ringed in natural beaches made of soft sand.

The truth was anything but. The only island Desmond knew of that was actually covered in palm trees was Little Palm up near Big Pine. But then that had once been a movie set and they’d been planted there. The Keys also had very few natural sand beaches, most were made of stone and rocky. There were some of course, but those were waterfront property, and private, or just had docks built out to the deep water to avoid the rocks.

Some paradise.

“Oi,” he turned when someone came up behind him, startling him. He’d been staring at the water for a while and the whole dumb cruise ship thing which most people loved and loathed in equal measure. Altair had come up. Oh great what did _he_ want? On a list of people he wanted to see right now Altair was near the bottom. “Coming?”

“Huh?” he asked.

“It’s our team’s turn at the net; coming?” Altair asked with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Desmond said, Altair was already walking away and he followed after him.

“Got our missing guy,” Altair said to Ezio, jerking his thumb at Desmond as they entered the sand court.

“Oh good,” Ezio grinned at Desmond, holding the volleyball in hand. “You’re up front,” he said and Desmond nodded, moving up to the front of the net. They were playing Clay’s team, made all the most obvious by Clay giving him a look from across the court. A ‘we’re not friends anymore since you’re not on my team’ look. Desmond didn’t think much of it; it _was_ Clay after all. Ezio served and it barely cleared the net. The ball got hit back, sailing over Desmond’s head and it was saved by someone behind him. It hit the sand and his team got a point.

They played a while, first team to six (why six Desmond didn’t know) got to move on, the loser got a second chance to not be eliminated. Desmond got to hit the ball quite a bit too since he was mainly covering the front alone since the other person on the front was an idiot and didn’t know what they were doing. But hey it was a fun game he wasn’t going to be too hard on them about it and it meant that Desmond got to do more and field the ball more and distract himself from his mood about work.

They were at five-five now. It’d actually been a pretty intense match. Most of the people on Desmond’s team were football players too, meaning they were all competitive jocks. There were actually a surprising amount of football players. What had Clay done to convince them all to show up? He sort of didn’t want to know actually. But whoever got the next point would win so it was go time for a lot of these testosterone meat heads.

Clay’s team served. The ball arced over the net. Desmond watched it go and his team hit it back. The next hit went wild and out of bounds. This time Desmond’s team served, he wasn’t sure if those were the actual rules of volleyball, but it was their rules. Ezio was a terrible server though and as usual the ball barely cleared the net. It was hit a bit back into enemy territory before being shot high over the net into Desmond’s zone.

Desmond started to back up as the ball arced downward and then saw it was further back than he expected. He was already committed though and so jumped back, raising his arms as he did so. The ball had just touched his fingers when someone suddenly jostled him. He yelped and flipped the ball away for someone else to catch it as he was nearly tossed into the sand.

With a grunt Desmond tried to pick himself up from the sand to find himself half laid on. Then he heard the thud of the ball striking sand and saw it land on the other side. They’d won.

Now to deal with this thing trapping his legs. He turned a bit, trying to get free. Then he saw who it was. “What’s your deal?” he demanded.

“My deal?” Altair shoved himself to his hands and knees with a scowl. “I had it.”

“I had it,” Desmond said firmly.

“You were supposed to stay by the net.”

“I _had it_ ,” Desmond sort of glared at him. “You ran into me,” and Altair hopped to his feet. “Watch where you’re going,” he added, irritated and shrugged to his feet from the sand.

“ _You_ watch it,” was Altair’s _stellar_ comeback. Desmond didn’t have time for Altair’s petty bullshit and just turned away and left the sand court. He sat down in a huff, irritated, on the opposite side of the volleyball court from where Altair was.

Not five minutes passed when Clay showed up and sat next to him. “Hey,” he said.

“What?” Desmond short of growled.

“Wow what crawled up your ass and died?” Clay said, leaning back a bit.

“I’m not in the mood Clay,” Desmond said.

“What’s eating you? You were in a good mood at school. Now you get to see your boy toy running around half naked and you’re acting like he personally offended your mother.”

Desmond gave Clay an unamused look, “Work cut my hours,” he said moodily.

“Oh, well that sucks, isn’t it season?”

“Yeah. I’m going away for Christmas though-

“Wait you’re going away for Christmas?”

“Yeah, going back to South Dakota for two weeks this year.”

“… Well that fucking blows,” Clay groaned and leaned against Desmond. “I’m going to bored out of my skull. Who’s going to go to the beach with me Christmas morning? Or go drinking on Duval with? Uhggggg,” and he flopped fully into Desmond’s lap.

“Oh please. I thought you had a girlfriend.”

“She’s visiting her dad and his crazy girlfriend for Christmas,” Clay groaned painfully.

“Really?” they didn’t hear a lot about Lucy’s biological dad, who lived in some square state. Like Ohio or Kansas or Iowa or something. Some place with a lot of corn. Like he had any room to talk, he was from fucking South Dakota.

“Yeah.”

“And Shaun and Rebecca?”

“Shaun’s family from England is visiting and he’s already proclaimed he’ll be unavailable the entire break-

“Except for Becca.”

“Yeah, except for Becca. Which really can you blame him?” and he twisted so he now wasn’t laying belly down on Desmond’s lap but on his back. If it was anyone else Desmond would have felt weird. But it was Clay.

“You’ll still live. And Rebecca’s still around.”

“I _guess_ ,” Clay sighed.

“Think of it like this. Chance to get to know our lovable otaku better.”

“Hey, Bec’s not an otaku. How do you even know what an otaku even is?”

“Clay… you’re my best friend. You should be more worried if I _didn’t_ know what an otaku was.”

“Well if that’s true then you should use it in the right way cause Rebecca is _not_ an otaku.”

“Sorry. Whatever. You know what I meant,” Desmond sighed.

“Yeah I suppose,” Clay agreed.

“You’ll be fine without me. Like just… don’t set anything on fire and I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“But I like setting things on fire,” Clay whined. Desmond just rolled his eyes and pushed Clay off his lap. “Dessssmonnnnd,” he whined.

“Are you five or something?” Desmond asked. “How’d you get all these footballers here anyway?”

“Promised them food,” Clay said and sat back on his thighs like a proper man-child and not a toddler.

“How did you get enough food to feed this many people?” Clay didn’t have a job so it was a mystery.

Clay grinned and pulled out a credit card. Desmond squinted at it to read it. “Harold Kac- Clay, did you steal your dad’s card?”

“What? You kidding? You think I have a death wish. Nah I convinced him to let me borrow it. I said it was for a club, like a ‘real’ one and not that ‘board game nonsense you and that Miles kid play’,” he shrugged. “And I told him it was for sports. So, win win for meee,” he said smiling widely.

“So food’s on you?”

“Oh hell yeah food’s on me!” Clay said.

“Clay,” someone called and his friend whipped around. “We’re playing our match.”

“Man the other team lose already? Dang. Okay, catch you in a bit and also early Christmas present is in the works,” he winked at Desmond.

“Uhg,” was all Desmond said. Clay laughed and got to his feet, going back to play volleyball. Desmond looked across the sand, between player’s legs and saw Altair and Malik again. They were talking and Malik was using some wild hand gestures. Desmond frowned and looked away from them. He needed to get over this. Too bad that didn’t look like that would happen any time soon.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be going back home for winter break and if you’d like to see first hand pictures of some of these places in this story you can check out my [blog](http://myantiquehabibi.tumblr.com) and look under the ‘bb on vacation’ tag (at the time of writing there is nothing there but there will be.)

2 and 190

The Bourbon was pretty packed. But then it was Friday, one of the cruise ships was staying at port over night (for some reason, Desmond didn’t concern himself with what the cruise ships did) and Key West was jammed with people. There were the locals and there were the tourists and it was hell to get anywhere down town in a car. The street lamp and store front illuminated Duval Street was packed with more people than usual, though he knew it could get _worse_. At least it wasn’t Fantasy Fest anymore. That nightmare had been two months ago. But the main drag was filled with little electric cars and mopeds with wide-eyed tourists and real cars with cranky locals who probably on some level wished all the tourists would just set themselves on fire even though they were the life’s blood of the entire island chain.

The sidewalks were just as full of people on a Friday. It was easier to walk at least and they got into the Bourbon without any trouble. Desmond’s new fake I.D. felt like it was burning a hole in his wallet but it got him in.

There were… a lot of guys in here. Really Desmond didn’t know why he felt even a tiny bit surprised. It was across from the 801, where the drag queens danced, and the Bourbon was nearly a strip club. Only. Not a strip club. Gay strip club. Briefly Desmond wondered if he could get a lap dance here.

“Oi, Romeo,” Clay jabbed him a bit in the ribs, startling him. Desmond looked at him, slightly wide-eyed. “Don’t look like a deer in the headlights,” he said over the thumping music and dragged Desmond away from the entrance and they found a bar table and sat, “De— Hello, earth to Desmond. Do you read?” Clay called.

Desmond’s head snapped back around to face Clay. “Sorry. I just got distracted by the view,” he said with a complete shit eating grin.

“Well fantastic. So. What’s the game plan?”

“I dunno.”

“Wonderful! Same ole’ Des,” and he swung his bent arm across his chest in a ‘go get ’em’ sort of manner sarcastically.

“Shut up,” Desmond said. “I mean I’m not drinking so…

“Sodas?” Clay supplied. “I mean not everyone drinks, and we’re minors,” he added.

“Yeah,” Desmond said. “I’ll get us some. Coke?” Clay nodded. “Okay, I’ll be… right back,” and then he slipped off the stool. He heard Clay laugh and he sort of wondered what he looked like. He made himself calm down because he couldn’t get worked up over this. But good god would he get so much hell from his dad if he knew Desmond was here. He knew Desmond was gay and was totally okay with it. Well. For the most part. He’d met Desmond’s last boyfriend, and his brother’s myriad of girls and boys he’d brought home. Desmond was pretty sure William just wanted grandkids out of his children somehow and two sons who were busy into guys didn’t have the best prospects in this country.

Well too damn bad,

He went up to the bar. A bar tender got to him a few minutes later and he ordered two Cokes. He handed over some bills and was about to step away when the music changed dramatically. Desmond’s mouth fell open a bit when literally one of the hottest guys he’d ever seen was helped onto the bar dressed in possibly the tightest jeans he’d ever seen anyone wear and nothing else. The Coke’s nearly slipped out of his hands. Oh god. Oh _god_.

Desmond pointedly looked away and went back to their table when the guy started to dance and another guy hopped onto the bar. The bar cheered the bar dancers on and Desmond made his way back to Clay. The blonde was still there and so was… another man. Desmond hadn’t even been gone ten fucking minutes and Clay had already caught someone’s eye. It was some big, older, hairy, bear and Clay.

“Des,” Clay said when Desmond sat down and quickly moved to sit next to him.

“Who’s your friend?” the bear asked with a smile.

“My boyfriend,” Clay said without any hesitation. Oh wonderful. “Thanks babe,” and he took the Coke from Desmond and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Everything okay?” Desmond asked and slid his arm around Clay’s waist without thinking. Clay was obviously uncomfortable and needed some back up and they’d already agreed that if anything happened they weren’t okay with the other was supposed to save them. Desmond hadn’t realized he’d have to save Clay though his his friend was such a smooth talker and could get himself out of jams.

“I was just making a new friend,” Clay said and took a sip of his soda.

“I can’t leave you alone for five minutes without you attracting guys like flies can I?” Desmond asked him, giving him a look he didn’t even have to pretend was unamused.

“What can I say? I’m adorable,” Clay gave him a cheeky grin though Desmond could see he looked _so_ relieved Desmond was there for back up.

“Yes you are. Excuse us the rest of our party showed up while I was gone,” he gave the bear his best charming grin.

“Sure. See you around,” he said.

Desmond dragged Clay away. “Holy fuck _thank you_ ,” Clay said once they were away.

“You’re welcome. Creepy bear?”

“ _Creepy bear_ ,” he agreed. “Though I had a creepy twink make a pass at me while you were gone too.”

“ _Clay_ ,” Desmond groaned.

“What!?”

“How do you manage that? Two guys in like ten minutes?”

“Well I was alone and looked bored. Not exactly rocket science,” they found another table and sat. “So what’s the game plan?”

“Huh?”

“For tonight, to maybe get some ass, remember, the reason we’re here.”

“Oh… right. Uh…” Clay groaned at Desmond’s lack of anything. “Well I’ve never been to a bar like this,” he admitted. “Not really… my scene.”

“Well we can’t just sit here,” Clay said.

“Mmm, well,” he looked at the bar where three hot guys in nearly no clothes were dancing. He lost his train of thought.

“Oi!” Clay’s voice snapped him back around. “Ogling later.”

“Right. Right,” Desmond nodded. “Well I don’t just wanna wait around to get picked up. That’s boring and sad.”

“So what? Wanna hit the dance floor?” Clay had somehow made his Coke vanish. Desmond turned to the dance floor which had quite a number of people. It wasn’t packed to bursting, but it was plenty lively and the music was pretty good, even if not to his taste. “I’m gonna hit the bar up and get a lesbian to buy me a drink,” Clay grinned.

“Specifically a lesbian?” Desmond asked, brow arched.

“Yes. Though I’m okay if someone _else_ buys me a drink too.”

“Why a lesbian?”

“Because they’re cool?” Clay seemed confused by the question in general. “Not like I’m gonna hit on her, wow rude as hell. But just cause I’m a dude at a gay bar doesn’t mean I can’t talk to girls. Right?”

“True…” Desmond sipped down the rest of his Coke. “So I’ll be on the floor, you the bar. If we need one another?”

“Put your phone on vibrate,” Clay said, “that’s really the only thing we can do since the music is so loud,” Desmond nodded. His phone was on vibrate already so it was good. “Meet up at midnight if not before that?”

“Sounds good,” Desmond nodded.

“Try to have some fun loser,” Clay said.

“And you don’t get slapped by lesbians,” Desmond said right back. They laughed and got off their chairs, parting ways.

Desmond made his way onto the dance floor. The music just seemed to get louder, though now he wasn’t trying to tune it out and hear Clay either. The DJ was good and Desmond let the music pound through his system till it felt more like his heart beat than his own.

Desmond honestly wasn’t a dancing sort of guy. He wasn’t a total white boy about it, but he still felt kinda awkward on a dance floor at times. However seeing some other people and how ridiculous they were dancing made Desmond feel better about it. Clay liked to tease him sometimes but really Clay _was_ a white boy and danced like one and would unironically do the running man or sprinkler at parties. But then that was also Clay.

It started off kinda slow, since he _was_ alone and all and sort of nervous about the whole thing. Why had he thought this was a good idea again? He didn’t know. Damnit. Then he just told himself he didn’t care. Cause no one else did. It went a long way in him loosening up and he actually found himself enjoying it. The music was good and even though he was alone he didn’t mind. He was having fun and knew if he texted Clay his friend _would_ come dance with him. Though Desmond didn’t know if he’d be able to stand _that_ sort of embarrassment.

A few songs passes and some guy came up to him. He was pretty cute, dark hair and pale with glasses and _super_ skinny. Wow he was skinny. Desmond could imagine his ribs showing through his skin. Because the music was so loud he couldn’t really asked verbally but sort of made a motion to ‘ask’ if they could dance together. When Desmond didn’t stop him he joined in.

That lasted about two songs before Mr. Skinny-White-Boy decided it was okay to play grab ass. Desmond just shoved him away gave him a look like ‘not fucking cool’ and left the area. Desmond didn’t do getting his ass grabbed by random dudes even if he was looking to get laid just… like six minutes and ass grabbing already? He wasn’t _that_ desperate. Fuck that.

Desmond ended up dancing with quite a few other guys. Some of them left and some Desmond left for grabbing or being creepy or being weird or making him uncomfortable. A few stuck around for a while and at one point he ended up between _two_ guys and that had been pretty fucking amazing. He took a break somewhere in there and got some water. 

He could see Clay on the other side of the bar seeming doing some sort of trick with a napkin and a cup of water for two girls who were obviously there together. He also saw a drink in front of Clay and Desmond laughed to himself.

Desmond hung around the bar for a few songs mostly kept to himself, just to chill for a few minutes and watch the boys on the bar dance. Wow they were really hot. All of them. And really distracting actually.

He left the bar eventually to answer the call of nature and when he came back out the boys on the bar had gotten down. The music was still going though. He couldn’t see Clay from where he was, though checked his phone just to be sure everything was okay. He had a text. He checked it and saw it was from his dad. ‘When are u coming home?’

Oh. Well. Awkward. ‘I might be staying at Clay’s tonight,’ his parents thought he was at a normal high school party and not, well… the Bourbon. If Desmond was staying at Clay’s it meant he could be drunk and wouldn’t drive home. So long as Desmond was responsible they didn’t mind if he drank. That was good enough for them really. Sometimes Desmond did realize he had super cool parents.

That taken care of Desmond put his phone away and found himself back on the dance floor. He had about an hour till midnight when he was going to meet up with Clay and they’d go from there. He’d only just got into the groove when he felt someone come up behind him, only it was more of a feeling since they weren’t touching him. But he could sense their presence behind him and the feint puff of breath on the exposed part of his neck.

It wasn’t until near the end of the second song that the guy even _touched him_ and it was a soft run of fingers down Desmond’s spine. It made him shiver in the heat of the club surrounded by writhing bodies and he tried to look over his shoulder. But the funny thing was, there was no one there. Well that was sort of creepy. When he turned back around they came back. So they were either playing the mysterious card, or hard to get to lure Desmond on.

Desmond could tell you it was working pretty well.

The guy wasn’t touching him again but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there and Desmond could see him out of the corner of his eye. This time it didn’t take as long for a touch, this time a hand pressed up against his flank, over his shirt and the other hand tangled up in Desmond’s fingers, lifting it about their heads as they moved together. Despite the fact that they were barely touching Desmond found himself seriously turned on. Not physically, no awkward boners, but it was just sort of erotic that in a crush of so many people bumping and grinding and thrashing they were hardly touching. 

When the next song came on the guy’s hand on his flank moved over and across to his stomach and just rested there, going no lower or higher. Desmond was more than a little secretly pleased when they also moved closer to him, nearly pressed up against Desmond’s back, though still not totally touching, only briefly brushing as they moved. It was sort of driving Desmond insane but he also didn’t want to see who it was and ruin what was happening. All he knew was that they _felt_ hot.

They danced for a while, Desmond lost track of time actually. He wanted to see how far this guy would go and what he’d do next. He knew midnight was coming and he needed to go meet Clay. But he didn’t want to leave. If he left then the moment would be ruined and whatever _this_ was would be over. He didn’t want it to be over.

A sort of slow song came on. It wasn’t really slow, but it was more for grooving and grinding. Desmond let out a long breath when Mr. Mystery pressed up against his back though didn’t do the bumping and grinding, which was good. Desmond would have hated him to ruin the moment. Instead he just moved the way Desmond moved, and took both hold of both his hands, putting them slightly above their heads so that other than back to front they couldn’t touch. His head sort of rested in the crook of Desmond’s neck, nose brushing against Desmond’s neck and jaw.

Desmond felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it. No way he was leaving until he found out who the fuck this was and they seemed to be dead set on keeping him in the dark. The song was about to end when his phone vibrated again. Damnit it all.

Desmond stopped, tugging his hands away and dug into his pocket, but entire body language signaling that he was annoyed in doing so. He was sort of pleased when Mr. Mystery stayed up against him, wrapping both arms around his middle. He had big arms, warm and muscular. He had three texts, one from his dad, two from Clay.

‘k, see u tomorrow’ was from his dad. Why did parents not type properly?

‘It’s midnight, where you at?’

‘Did you get kidnapped by that creepy bear who was lurking me earlier? Where are you?’ were the two texts from Clay. Behind him he heard a chuckle from Mr. Mystery reading over his shoulder.

Desmond texted back quickly, ‘with a guy. Don’t be a cock block’. 

A shiver shot up his spine when Mr. Mystery suddenly nuzzled him up behind his ear. Then in a voice that even over the music nearly made Desmond hard said, “You should come home with me.” Good _christ_ someone shouldn’t be allowed to sound that hot. Ever.

“Ah—“ he said awkwardly. His phone buzzed in his hand. Mr. Mystery nuzzled against his neck again while he checked it, very gently nipping at his neck. ‘Get it! Get it!’ was Clay’s reply and Desmond actually face palmed.

“Hmmm?” Mr. Mystery asked, “How about it, Miles?”

Like a record put on hold everything came to a screeching halt. Desmond nearly dropped his phone and pulled out of their grip, turning around. There, as though he had _every_ right to be there, was Altair. He was wearing a, tight, sleeveless shirt (like Desmond needed to be reminded how big his fucking arms were) and a pair of jeans that were _just_ tight enough and a shit eating smirk. Desmond’s mouth worked a moment and then: “What the hell are _you_ doing here?”

Altair stepped right back up into Desmond’s personal space. “Me? You’re the one with the fake I.D.,” he said and holy shit this was the guy Desmond had been dancing with nearly the past _hour_. Fuck his life. Right? How the hell was this even happening? Stuff like this _didn’t_ happen. This stuff happened in movies or TV shows or books. _This_ didn’t happen in real life. “What,” Altair asked when Desmond said nothing, just trying to remember how to make words, “cat got your tongue?”

Oh this fucking smooth asshole! “You asshole,” Desmond said.

“Is that a no?”

“I can’t even begin to deal with you right now,” and Desmond took a step back. He was just having trouble processing what was going on. Altair- Altair his _crush_ Altair- was standing right there, in a gay bar, and had just been dancing with him. Unknowingly of course. But still, _dancing with him_. This was both the best and most mortifying thing ever. And now he wanted… fuck it was like Ezio’s party all over again; ‘How’d you like to come home with me?’

Altair grabbed his wrist, “Hey, wait a sec.”

“Let go,” Desmond said.

Altair let him go, and before he could say anything Desmond vanished into the crowd. Good god he didn’t want to deal with this right now. He’d come to the Bourbon to try and get _over_ the fact that he wanted Altair to have sex with him. And now he’d just spent the past hour wanting the guy he’d been dancing with _too_ have sex with him. Of course this was his life. 

Once he was free of the dance floor he texted Clay as he made his way to the bar. ‘Think it’s time to go.’

‘Why?’

He was about to answer when someone suddenly grabbed his arm and turned him, disorientating him. “What the hell is your deal?” he heard Altair demand over the music.

“My deal?” Desmond snapped right back.

“Yeah _your deal_. What something wrong with my face or something?” because Desmond _had_ been really into him up until he saw who it was.

“No. Leave me alone,” and he walked away. He didn’t know _why_ he was doing this. But he just couldn’t deal with Altair now. He’d spent the entire week with him after school (except Tuesday and Thursday) in tutoring him and it was both the most frustrating time of his life and rather insightful. Just… he couldn’t deal with Altair right now. Not when he was sort of a dick at school or volleyball and then… and then whatever the fuck _that_ had been on the dace floor.

He went to a table and texted Clay to find him at it. He got a confirmation a moment later. He just wanted to leave now honestly. He’d totally ruined his own evening. He’d been having fun and then had not only been asked by Altair to go home with him, but he’d _turned him down_. Twice! There was something _clearly_ wrong with him. He put his head in his hands miserably.

Clay sat down in the chair next to him but didn’t say anything. Clearly he needed a minute to get himself together. After a moment he sighed and dragged his hands away, mouth open to tell Clay he thought it was time to go. Only. It wasn’t Clay. “Are you stalking me?” he demanded of Altair who was the one sitting at the table.

“Don’t think so highly of yourself,” Altair rolled his eyes.

“Then why are you still following me!?”

“You never answered me,” Altair said, leaning over to him, partially to be heard over the music.

Desmond swallowed from having his personal space invaded by Altair. Then he made himself say something and it wasn’t what he intended to come out, “Since when are you even interested in guys?” Oh I dunno maybe the time you gave each other mutual head, or when he drunkenly asked if you wanted to do it after he got kicked off the football team, or all the fucking subtle, _infuriating,_ flirting he did during tutoring where you weren’t sure if he was really flirting or not.

Altair gave him a shrewd look. “Have you ever seen me date a girl?” he asked. “And that’s not the point. It was a yes or no question,” he added quickly, giving Desmond a look.

“Ah— I…” yes his brain supplied. Yes I’d love to go home with you and let you do obscene things to me, preferably multiple times. Why wouldn’t he just _say yes_? He wanted to. God did he want to. To have a chance with Altair when neither of them were drunk. This was like one of his jerk off fantasies. So why wasn’t he saying yes?! Altair just kept looking at him, way too close and wow he was attractive. 

Say yes you idiot. Say. Yes. “N-“ he slapped his hand over his mouth at that. Altair rose a brow at him. No. You weren’t saying no. Why was this so fucking difficult? Maybe it was admitting he wanted some jock who infuriated him and hit him in the face with volleyballs and used him as an excuse to not go home and continue to wuss out about the fact that he’d been kicked off the football team. Or that the only times he seemed interested in Desmond was when he was drunk and ignored Desmond the rest of the time (except right now of course). Or that Desmond could never have the things he wanted even when they were literally _right in front of him_. This was his life. Of _course_ this was his life.

Once he was satisfied he wouldn’t say no he removed his hand. Altair looked at him like he was a weirdo. Oh wonderful. Just what he needed. The next word out of his mouth was going to be the answer and it was going to be the _right_ one. “Okay,” he said and wow he sounded like the biggest weenie ever.

“Okay you’ll go home with me?” Altair asked to clarify.

“Yeah,” and now that he said it hoped he didn’t sound too excited or— oh good christ Altair just kissed him. Sweet merciful god tonight was wonderful. He almost threw both his arms up in victory. But he refrained. It was just a short one but he was going to be getting more. Well at least Altair knew how to treat his one-night-stands. Even if he did kick them out in the morning but hey, that was understandable. “I uh… need to tell Clay I’m leaving,” he said sort of breathlessly.

“You bring your bike?” Desmond shook his head. He and Clay had come here together. “I’ll be outside then,” and left, his hand gently trailing along Desmond’s arm and the top of his hand for a moment. It was just a brief, innocent, touch but it was just as hot as when they were dancing.

Once Altair was gone Desmond felt like he could breathe properly and he slapped his hand back over his mouth. He stayed like that until Clay found him a few minutes later. “Hey,” Clay said said and then gave him a look. “You okay?”

“I’m leaving,” Desmond said.

“What? Why?”

Desmond was about to say a lie but then, “Voldemort,” he said.

“Volde-“ then Clay caught up, “Altair?” he asked. Desmond nodded. Clay latched onto his arm. “You fucking tell me what happened first,” he demanded.

“I was dancing and then this guy came up behind me but I didn’t know who it was. We just… danced.”

“Yeah and?”

“That was it and then I got your texts and…”

“ _AND_?” Clay pushed.

“I’m getting laid,” Desmond said and then laughed.

“Right on. Right on. So you’re leaving?”

“Yeah. He’s uh… outside, waiting.” Oh god this was actually happening.

“Then go,” and Clay practically shoved him off the stool. “Good christ I’ve been waiting like three damn weeks for you to get with. Why are you even still here?”

“Waiting for you?”

“Yeah well you could have just texted me. Have fun, don’t forget to use protection and-

“Clay. Shut up,” Desmond said.

“Shoo,” Clay waved him off. “I’m going back to the bar. Some lovely lesbians are missing my company.”

“Don’t forget you have a girlfriend,” Desmond reminded him.

“Pfft, I wouldn’t even try and do either of them. One is this butch lady who could probably snap me in half if I touched her or her girlfriend,” and he slid off his chair. “Also I get three questions tomorrow.”

Desmond groaned, “ _Fine_. Later,” and he left Clay and headed for the door. As he walked he felt a bubble of excitement climb up his throat and then he was outside in the not so crowded sidewalk. Most of the tourists were back on their ship and the locals were either home or in bars. He spotted Altair a moment later and walked up to him. “Hey,” Altair turned and in the light of the street lamps Desmond could see the slight sheen of sweat on his skin and Desmond’s brain decided it wanted to lick it off. He refrained, thank _god_.

“Ready to go?” Altair asked.

“You driving?”

“Yeah, my car’s just around the corner,” and Desmond followed Altair when he walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

0 hours

Desmond was still trying to catch up with the fact that Altair's hand was down his pants, his mouth attached to his neck. The ride to Stock Island bad been quiet, but not uncomfortably so, and nearly as soon as Altair had parked in the driveway had put Desmond in this situation. He wasn't complaining though. Wow was be not complaining. Not with Altair's hand down his pants he wasn't complaining.

Then suddenly it was gone and Desmond sighed softly. Altair was already getting out of the car though. "Coming?" he asked before closing the door. Desmond quickly undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the car, following Altair. Altair was unlocking the front door and went inside. The air outside had been warm and inside the air conditioner was on.

Last time he'd been here he'd been too drunk or too freaked out to appreciate the place. Altair's house wasn't a mansion. Not completely. But it was pretty fucking huge and well decorated with art. But not the nick nacky art. Like nice art. Paintings and small sculptures. It was a nice house. Nicer than Ezio's but also a lot emptier feeling. There was no feeling that a big family lived there like at the Auditore house. More just Altair and his parents.

He didn't get to continue to enjoy the architecture because Altair was dragging him along. Desmond smiled to himself as Altair flipped off the lights in the foyer and basically blind pulled him through the house. Altair's bedroom was as he remembered of. A pale, inoffensive, yellow color, with a big bed with pipe lights around the headboard. There were other pieces of furniture too. Two dressers, a desk with a computer, a closet and a door that led to the bathroom. It was also as big as Desmond's fucking living room! He only had a moment to appreciate the space before Altair was shoving him against the wall firmly and kissing him.

Desmond groaned softly against Altair's mouth. Good god he'd wanted to do this for three weeks. Sometimes it was a struggle during tutoring to not just plant one on the 'dumb jock' too. Especially when they did their studying in Spanish and Altair talked mostly in Spanish and Desmond found that pretty much the hottest thing in the entire world.

“H-horizontal,” Desmond practically gasped out between kisses because Altair had a thigh between his legs and something needed to be handled there that wasn’t being dealt with now.

“Yeah,” Altair said, his voice breathless and excited. Desmond shoved him away and they sort of stumbled back onto Altair’s bed in a tangle of limbs and grasping hands. Altair pushed Desmond onto the bed and Desmond let him but tugged him down for more kisses because Altair wasn’t the only pushy guy in bed tonight. Desmond had an agenda and that included kissing Altair and touching Altair and definitely head and if sex didn’t happen he was going to be so damn pissed. Three weeks since that shitty version of a one-night stand, he was getting proper sex out of Altair if it killed him.

Desmond reached down and grabbed Altair’s dick through his pants and Altair groaned into his neck. Then Altair was picking at Desmond’s clothes, nearly tearing them off him and running his hands al up and down and along Desmond’s skin. “O-oh,” Desmond breathed, breath a little short now from Altair doing that.

“S’good?” Altair asked, his hands on Desmond’s hips, still fully clothed.

“Really,” Desmond said. “Why are you still dressed?” he asked.

Altair looked down at himself, “I am…” he agreed slowly. Then he sort of laughed, “Would you believe me if I said I hadn’t noticed? I was just interested in getting you out of yours.”

“…oh,” what did Desmond even think of that? That no he didn’t really believe him because it wasn’t like the usual with the guys he had sex with. In his previous few (so few) relationships Desmond always bottomed if it came to that and gay guys were still guys and thus could be assholes in bed. More than one didn’t really know how to do much but get off themselves. Desmond always enjoyed it yeah, but he normally didn’t get off till he was doing aftercare in the bathroom with his own hands. Someone thinking of him as something other than an afterthought hadn’t occurred to Desmond, especially with a guy like Altair who was Mr. Macho-Man-Look-How-Straight-I-Am-I-Play-Football-and-Drink-Beer-Bwaaa. 

While Desmond had been in his own head Altair had mostly undressed and that made Demond distracted. God damn Altair was hot. Just so epically hot it made Desmond almost uncomfortable. Altair had a bit of a six pack and had muscular arms and shoulders and fucking pecs and those crazy muscles along your ribs Desmond didn’t know the name of. Desmond was… kinda tall and thin and while he wasn’t fat he wasn’t really buff either and his stomach was flat and soft and damn did seeing Mr. Adonis over there make him feel inferior as all hell.

“You okay?” Altair asked him, kneeling between Desmond’s legs in just his briefs.

“Yeah,” Desmond said, “You’re just painfully hot,” and Altair laughed. He’d never made Altair laugh before.

“Enjoy it while you can,” and Altair pressed his mouth to Desmond’s firmly. He grabbed Desmond’s hands and pressed them pointedly on his body for him to investigate. Oh this was so amazing Desmond might actually die from how great it was. 

Desmond slid his hands down and under the thin layer of fabric of Altair’s underwear and grabbed his ass. Damnit he even had a great ass too. Well Desmond knew that. It was one of the main draws for Desmond to go to football games; football player asses in those tight, tight, pants. But right now he could really appreciate what a fantastic ass it really was. Altair rocked his hips forward, the friction of cloth on skin was amazing and maddening, especially with Altair’s tongue in his mouth doing some rather wonderful things. How he forgot what an absolutely evil mouth Altair had Desmond wasn’t sure; but he had. It was nice to be reminded that Altair could do things with it that made him melt.

Altair kissed his mouth and lips and then down his jaw and throat and then down further and Desmond got goosebumps realizing what was going to happen. He didn’t push or prod though he did almost kick Altair in the ribs when he traced his tongue around the cusp of Desmond’s belly button. He never knew he was ticklish till just then.

“Ticklish Miles?” Altair asked him, looking at him from Desmond’s stomach.

“Not like you giggle-boy,” Desmond teased and gently ran his fingers behind Altair’s ear. Just like he bet would happen Altair’s shoulder shot up to ‘protect’ the ticklish spot and he lost a battle with keeping a smile off his lips.

“You’re awful,” Altair said.

“You’re the one who picked me up,” Desmond rose his brows at him.

“I might regret that,” Altair rose his brows at him right back.

“You don’t get to regret it until after,” Desmond said smartly.

“I don’t?”

“Nope.”

“And why would that be?”

Desmond leaned forward, making Altair sit up and then pushing him back a bit onto the bed. “Because first we’re going to have fun,” Desmond said with a smirk, voice low, and gently nipped at Altair’s lips before his head dropped. Altair gasped in surprise and delight when Desmond tugged his briefs down and ran his tongue up Altair’s cock now in his hand.

“Oh god,” Altair moaned, hips moving forward a bit. Desmond licked Altair’s cock again before sucking on the tip. Altair’s hand found itself in his hair and pushed his fingers through it and put a bit of pressure on the back of Desmond’s head. Clearly wanting to do deeper. Altair yelped when Desmond bit. Not hard, more like just making Altair aware that he did have teeth in his mouth. “Holy shit watch it!” Altair cried.

“Then don’t push me down,” Desmond growled. “Unless you want me to vomit all over you.”

“You wouldn’t,” Altair gave him a look.

“Wanna test my shitty gag reflex?” Desmond challenged. “And I don’t like being pushed down.”

Altair shrugged, “Sorry.” He ran an experimental hand through Desmond’s hair again as Desmond looked away from him and Desmond liked that. He didn’t really like giving head all that much but there were ways to keep him down here a while. Only one guy he’d ever been with had figured how to do it though and that’s why Desmond knew it could happen.

Altair didn’t figure it out though and soon the fact that Desmond’s jaw ached a bit grew too annoying and he got off, moving to kissing along the warm part of Altair’s stomach.  Altair continued to run his hands through Desmond’s hair and along  his shoulders and down his back. Desmond kissed and licked and sucked his way up Altair’s chest, leaving behind gentle red marks in the shape of his mouth on Altair’s skin. Then he was kissing Altair again and Altair pushed him back onto the bed and Altair gave him a very similar treatment.

Desmond moaned shamelessly when Altair wrapped his mouth around Desmond’s cock. It was a universal fact that all guys enjoyed head and if they said otherwise they were lying sacks of shit. Sometimes head was even better than sex and right now that was Desmond. He didn’t even know where Altair learned to do this since it was absolutely news to him that Altair even swung on this side of the Kinsey scale. But his drunken mind had insisted Altair gave _really_ good head and his sober mind was busily agreeing. Because yes, Altair gave amazing head and it should be illegal to do some of things Altair was doing with his mouth. Desmond honestly didn’t know he could make some of the noises Altair was managing to get out of him, gasps and low moans that made him want to melt into the mattress. Damn Altair and his perfect fucking mouth.

Desmond was an absolute mess when Altair finally took his mouth away and by the absolute shit eating smirk on Altair’s face he knew Altair knew exactly what he was doing. Asshole. He kissed Desmond’s stomach and his chest before finding his mouth and Desmond wrapped his arms around Altair’s shoulders when he licked and sucked his way into Desmond’s mouth. Altair just had a wicked mouth all over and Desmond felt absolutely helpless before it.

Then Altair pulled away and Desmond blinked at him slowly. He just felt kinda slow all over quite honestly. His consolation prize was that at least Altair was flushed and his lips properly swollen. “You have a preference?” he asked.

“Hot and male,” Desmond said.

Altair snorted, “That is obvious,” he said, “I meant top or bottom?”

“Oh,” Desmond said stupidly. He wasn’t firing on all cylinders. He was having sex damnit, you weren’t supposed to have higher level brain functions.

“Or,” Altair nipped at his lips, “Should I just assume?” he asked into his ear and fuck Altair could turn on the sex phone worker voice like no one’s business when he wanted to. Desmond wondered if he could do it on command and if so would he please just send Desmond voicemail messages of him reading grocery lists talking like that. Or something. As said, higher level brain functions not supposed to happen when having sex.

“Bottom,” Desmond said, cause he didn’t want something dumb to happen like Altair assume he was a top. He could be, if he wanted to, and he _really_ did want to see what sort of noises Altair made when Desmond had him pinned to a bed. But not tonight. If this was another one time deal Desmond wanted to get what he wanted and he’d been wanting this for three damn weeks. He wanted Altair to make him speechless and begging, because Desmond was _not_ above begging to get how he liked it. He also had it on good authority that tops generally liked begging, it was an ego thing.

“Okay, and you go all the way?”

“Would we even be having this conversation if I didn’t? Desmond asked right back.

“Some guys don’t do it, I’m just checking,” Altair said shrugging and pushed himself up and then got off Desmond. Desmond watched him walk over to a dresser, unashamedly staring at Altair’s ass. It was a really fucking _nice_ ass too. He’d gotten off to that ass several times since Ezio’s party and he wasn’t even sorry about it one bit. As Altair grabbed what he needed Desmond reached down and took his cock in hand and ran his thumb along the head. He sighed a deep sigh cause he was really hard and it felt really good and he knew he probably wouldn’t come till this was over. Damn his body sometimes.

Altair turned around, lube and condom in one hand as he closed the drawer and just stood there a few moments, watching. Desmond bit his lip and slowed so he could think in proper, full, sentences. “Going to stand there all night?” he asked.

Altair smirked, “You’re having some fun without me.”

Desmond took his hand away from his prick, “Then come do it for me,” and Desmond crooked a finger at Altair. Altair’s smirk turned almost evil and then he was crawling up the bed and between Desmond’s legs, kissing him. Altair’s hand went around Desmond’s cock and Desmond moaned.

Altair jerked fast and Desmond gasped, his voice seeming to go up an octave each breath and his toes curled. He was seriously about to come right there. Then it stopped and the groan of frustration Desmond gave was almost comical. Altair had brought him to the edge of orgasm and that was it, what an asshole. At least this was deliberate, with a promise (if that dirty kiss he’d given Desmond after the fact had been any indication) to follow up later, and not like some guys who would take Desmond to the edge and just… that was it. That usually left him finishing with his hand in the bathroom afterwards by himself while he dealt with after care.

For a moment Desmond’s face pinched when Altair pressed a slick finger against his ass. He hmmed in satisfaction when he got himself in order and it slid right on. Altair was sort of at Desmond’s side, mouth attached to Desmond’s neck, hand down between his spread legs. Altair was working up a serious hickey on Desmond’s neck. He was not going to be into it like he was now in the morning. He’d worry about that in the morning. Instead he was honestly more worried about Altair’s fingers as he worked a second into him and then a third making Desmond gasp laboriously.

Altair worked slowly, clearly in no real rush to open Desmond up. Desmond just let himself melt into the bed and tried to not think about the fact that he could feel Altair’s erection against his leg otherwise he’d get anxious. Not in a bad way, more in a ‘fuck me now’ sort of way. He was enjoying being well taken care of though and having his needs thought of and not like he was secondary just because he would let some guy stick their dick in him. So he was letting Altair decide when he thought they should move on.

He didn’t have to wait much longer as Altair pulled his hand out and Desmond took a slow, blissed, breath. Altair pushed himself up onto his knees. “Roll over,” he said and Desmond did enjoy how rough Altair’s voice sounded. Desmond did so, flipping onto his belly as Altair ripped open the condom. Desmond looked over his shoulder as he felt the bed dip as Altair moved around and straddle his thighs. A hand was placed on Desmond’s back rather gently and he gave a sort of breathy gasp when Altair pressed the tip of his cock against Desmond’s skin. Altair chuckled.

“What’re you laughing at?” Desmond shot over his shoulder.

“You,” Altair said and leaned over him, holding himself up on one arm and kissed Desmond. Altair swallowed Desmond’s obscene moan as Altair pushed himself in, his hand helping guide him in.

Desmond turned his head to breathe, “Fuck,” he moaned softly when Altair rolled his hips experimentally. Desmond felt his back bow a bit from the pressure and his eyes roll a bit into the back of his head. Good _God_ that felt amazing. Then Altair was pretty much laying on top of Desmond, one arm around the front of Desmond’s chest, head on his shoulder. 

He could hear and feel Altair’s breath in his ear as he moved against Desmond’s back going slow at first before speeding up. Altair pushed himself up a bit, hand pressing into Desmond’s upper back to move quicker, push deeper and Desmond’s heart could barely keep up with the smacking of skin on skin. He was pretty sure it was about to give out if his voice didn’t do so first, each connection drawing a desperate cry from Desmond’s mouth.

Desmond’s fingers sort of hurt from clutching the pillow he was nearly face planted on and just he groaned when Altair slowed down. Fuck he had not had it this good in a while. Altair panted behind him, one hand holding onto Desmond’s hip, but wasn’t moving. Desmond licked his lip and looked over his shoulder.

“Something wrong?” he might as well have croaked.

“No,” Altair said and leaned down and over him seeking Desmond’s lips. “Nothing,” he breathed against Desmond’s mouth before sucking on Desmond’s lower lip. As he did so Desmond sort of squeaked when Altair made a point to push in to the hilt. Altair kissed him properly, firmly and took what was left of Desmond’s breath.

When Desmond could finally get some air Altair was sitting back up and a soft moan of surprise left him when Altair pulled out. The hell? He was about to bitch about it since, clearly Altair was still hard and hadn’t come, when he felt Altair pushing him over to roll onto his back. Oh. Okay. He was okay with that. He was even more okay with seeing Altair kneeling between his legs, his legs over Altair’s thighs. Altair wasn’t looking at him, but down, hand around his cock and Desmond sighed a loud sigh when he was back in.

He had to admit, Desmond liked it better this way. Well he liked it any way, but he liked being able to see Altair. He was really hot, it was almost shameful to not be able to see him in the dim light of just the bed side lamp and the pipe lights around the headboard of Altair’s bed. Altair had one hand the bed spread, the other under Desmond’s knee, pushing it upwards, towards Desmond’s chest.

It didn’t take long for Desmond to be out of breath again, his hands grabbing at the bed spread, head tipped back and digging into the pillow exposing the line of his throat. Altair was half leaned over him, holding his leg just so, panting, and Desmond had a perfect view of him. He reached down and grabbed his mostly limp cock which sent a tingle down his spine and his toes curl blissfully as he touched it, knowing it wouldn’t get hard but enjoying how it felt anyway.

Desmond was so not secretly pleased when Altair cursed  obscenely, English seeming to fail in what he wanted to say and Desmond was half sure it came out in Spanglish, or Arblish, he wasn’t quite sure. Mainly because he was too busy dealing with Altair thrusting firmly into him, letting his leg go to get pointed motions that made Desmond need to hold onto something. That something turned into the bed spread and one of Altair’s arms. Then it was like Altair melted and sagged a bit against him, Desmond’s lower back and ass in the air from how Altair had pushed him.

“Fuck,” Altair said in a short, vicious, tone, nearly too soft to hear, and eased himself out of Desmond who swallowed as he did so.

“You can say that again,” Desmond said.

Altair gave him a look, “Fuuuck,” he said and Desmond laughed as he tugged off the condom and tied it off to be thrown away. He sat back with a huff and leaned over as far as he could without falling to toss the used condom in the little trash can by his desk. Desmond looked down his body at Altair, still sitting between his legs, as Altair caught his breath. “Not half bad,” Altair said.

“I could say that same,” Desmond said.

“I’m not half anything,” Altair said with a smirk and leaned forward. He kissed Desmond briefly on the lips then down to the hickeys on his neck making Desmond twitch, they were currently more sensitive then his ass. Desmond gasped in surprise as Altair went down and wrapped his mouth around his soft cock, which wanted a lot of attention. “Oh,” he sort of squeaked. 

Desmond had only had a few other partners, and only one, other than Altair, actually made a point for Desmond to get off after they were done. Most of them had been when he was younger and boys were stupid as fuck and didn’t actually know how their own anatomy worked. Most thought cause Desmond went from hard to soft while getting fucked, that he’d come. Not the case. Desmond was just one of those guys who couldn’t maintain while there was a large, usually wonderful feeling cock, up his ass. Sometimes it was shocking how many people didn’t realize that was rather common. So Desmond usually had to finish by himself after cleaning up.

Not the case here. And _god_ Altair’s mouth felt ever better this time around and he was even sucking on Desmond’s balls. Desmond groaned and wriggled furiously because he wasn’t used to this was stimulation all at once. He pressed one hand through Altair’s hair and pulled gently, the pads of his fingers scraping against Altair’s scalp. Altair made an encouraging noise and he tugged a bit harder, more encouraging noises. Desmond didn’t pull any harder though, he was too busy floating.

“I’m gonna,” Desmond groaned a few minutes later. Altair removed his mouth and finished it with just his hand, which was plenty. Desmond wasn’t really a shooter and instead just made a mess all over his cock, groin and Altair’s hand, gasping as he came. “Mother of god,” he breathed and then Altair was kissing him again. He barely had time to realize Altair was doing so though before he was gone again and getting off the bed.

Desmond’s head spun as he watched Altair go to the door of his bathroom and go inside. He heard the sound of running water, Altair washing his hands no doubt. Altair came back out a moment later and Desmond was going to get really used to seeing Altair between his legs and he plopped right back down there like he belonged there. “Oh,” he said in surprise when something wet and cool was pressed against his entrance. Well. That was new. Never had a guy clean him up before. Altair dabbed and then wiped off Desmond’s crotch and then folded the wash cloth over and put it back down between his legs. The cool towel felt good against his hot skin. “Thanks,” he said, actually meaning it.

“Think I ruined you enough tonight,” and Desmond actually snorted. “What?” he asked.

“You’re good. But I know what wrecked feels like,” he couldn’t help that it was sort of challenging. He did though. Guy who could keep Desmond down to give head? Ass wrecker. Desmond hadn’t been able to sit down comfortably the next day after that time. Altair was good and this had been sooooo good, but, not ruin worthy.

Altair just gave him a look. “High standards much.”

“If it makes you feel better you’re second on the list,”  Desmond said helplessly with a grin. Altair pouted at him. Desmond needed a moment to properly appreciate that sentence. Altair _pouted_ at him. He didn’t even know Altair _could_ pout. And wow it was cute. “Awww,” Desmond sat up, “don’t make that face, it’ll stay like that,” and he kissed Altair, arms around his shoulders.

Altair pushed him back onto his back and somehow they ended up under the covers. Under the sheets it was still kinda cool and Altair was a warm spot. Altair switched off the bed side lamp. “I’m surprised,” Desmond said.

“Hmm?” Altair asked, turning from the lamp to him.

“I kinda… expected you to kick me out honestly.”

Altair studied him for a moment before saying, “I could kick you out if you wanted.”

“No,” Desmond said quickly. “It’s almost two. I enjoy not being kicked out to find a cab at two in the morning.”

“I usually don’t kick people out till the next morning,” Altair said.

“Fair enough,” Desmond nodded.

“Now shut up and go to bed,” Altair said and to make a point closed his eyes. Desmond stayed awake for a few more minutes, watching Altair. He noticed when Altair fell asleep but not when he did.


	21. Chapter 21

7 hours

Desmond woke to someone poking him. He blinked awake sleepily and saw Altair looking at him. "Mm?" he asked dumbly.

"Let go," Altair said. Desmond was then aware of what he was doing. He was cuddling Altair's arm, rather tightly. He made a noise that must have been an apology because he let go and Altair got up.

"Need to get up, huh?" Desmond groaned and pressed his hand to his eyes.

"Want a shower?" Altair asked, sounding way more awake than Desmond was.

"… I get one this time?" he asked, lifting his head off the pillow a bit to look at Altair.

"Gramps isn't here," Altair shrugged.

"Yeah," Desmond thumped back onto Altair's bed.

"You can use it after me."

"Can I just take it with you?" his dumb, sleep addled, mind asked and his mouth didn't have a proper filter to his brain yet.  
Altair blinked at Desmond and then shrugged again, "If you want," and then he walked towards the bathroom, clearly not intending to wait for Desmond.  
Desmond stared at the yellow ceiling wondering what the hell had just gotten into him before pushing himself up on his elbows as the water started in the bathroom. He made a face to himself. He… really wouldn't mind. Altair said he didn't care. After a moment of deliberating he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

He'd never been in here and it was small, but efficient. The hot water made the air a bit muggy as he closed the door. With only a slight hesitation he went to the shower and pulled back the curtain a bit, Altair was facing the spray, head down, letting the hot water splash over him. Desmond slid into the shower and put his hand gently on Altair's back to not startle him. Altair only twitched and then took the shower head out and handed it to Desmond. Bless hose heads.

The hot water felt really good, rinsing off the sweat and sex from last night. He was surprised when Altair suddenly touched his hair and realized he was… washing it. Oh this was freaking  _awesome_. So not normal one-night-stand procedure but who the fuck cared? Desmond lowered the shower head and let Altair wash his hair before returning the favor. Altair had slightly shorter hair than Desmond, but he still managed to style it into a mohawk before Altair grabbed the shower head and washed the suds out. Desmond just grinned unashamedly at him.

They washed themselves separately and Altair got out first to let Desmond finish up. Desmond turned on some cooler water to give his back side a bit of not so rough attention and once he was done he stepped out of the shower, dried off and sat on the john. He sat there for a while, making faces to himself, waiting to see if something was going to move. He sat there a few minutes before getting up, putting a towel around his waist and checking himself in the mirror.

"ALTAIR!" he yelled at seeing his reflection. There was a  _huge_  hickey on his neck and chest. It started on the left side of his neck, up under his ear, covered the entire side of his neck, across some of his throat, down his collar bone and even on part of his chest. Good god what had happened to him! It looked like he'd been in some sort of weird fight, his neck discolored and tender.

The door opened enough for Altair to stick his head through, he was dressed, "Yeah?" he asked.

"Care to  _explain_  what the fuck you did to my neck?" Desmond demanded, pointing accusingly at the hickey.

"Never had a hickey?"

"This isn't a hickey this is a fucking bruise. How does someone even  _do_  this much skin damage?"

Altair shrugged, "You were liking it." Desmond groaned and ran his hand through his hair, glancing at himself in the mirror again. It was even worse when he looked a second time. "Want me to wash your clothes?" Altair asked out of no where.

"… What?"

"Want me to throw your clothes in the wash?" Altair asked again, raising his brows at him.

"Uh…"

"Or you can wear your dirty club clothes, makes no difference to me," Altair shrugged.

"Then what the hell will  _I_  wear?" Altair glanced down at the towel around his waist. "No," Desmond said warningly.

"I can give you something. Yes? No?"

Desmond thought about it. He was clean and didn't want to wear dirty clothes honestly. But if he said yes he'd be here another hour and a half at least waiting for his clothes to wash and dry. He looked at Altair who was just waiting for an answer but didn't seem concerned with the answer. "Yeah, sure, thanks," Desmond said.

"I'll lay something out for you to wear," and then Altair retreated, closing the door. Desmond looked back at the mirror and whined miserably. Just great. He had a giant hickey on his neck to clearly broadcast that he'd had a wild fucking weekend to the entire school. He was sort of sure that was the point. Good god how was he going to explain this  _to his father_? He said he'd been at Clay's all night and he magically had a huge hickey on his neck. This was not going to end well. Well not like it'd be bad. His dad wouldn't flip out or anything, he'd just get a talking to about lying and probably safe sex or something. None of the things he wanted!

He sighed and gently rubbed his neck. It was awful and huge and for fuck's sake! There wasn't anything he could do about it other than wear a scarf or something. It wasn't cold enough for that yet though. It never really was. He couldn't wait for winter break when he'd be going up to South Dakota and would be wearing scarves and high necked shirts. Winter break was still two weeks away though.

Wasn't much he could do about now though. He left the bathroom. The bed had been made, with no sign that he and Altair had occupied it, and there were sweat pants and a shirt laid out on it. Altair was nowhere to be seen. Desmond undid his towel and pulled on the shirt and pants. They smelled like Altair's laundry detergent, clean and mild. He couldn't help but think this was the second time he was wearing Altair's clothes after sleeping with him. He both did and didn't hope this was a theme. At least this time it was on purpose and he hadn't, in a hungover, slightly terrified, daze, had grabbed the first shirt off the floor and thrown it on. The shirt too big on him, having been stretched out by Altair's wide shoulders, but the pants fit at least.

He left Altair's room. He was on the first floor, but there were stairs to a second and maybe even third floor. He'd never had the chance to appreciate Altair's house from the outside. The walls were pale coral and tastefully decorated, though it was like someone had paid to hang the things on the wall. He didn't bother trying to look in the other rooms, he just went down the hall to see if he could find Altair. As he got closer to the kitchen he saw that some of the pictures were personal. A young boy with his parents, smiling at the camera cheerfully. There were only a few, but they were all of, who he guessed was Altair with his mom and dad. He looked happy. Desmond wondered where they were, as he recalled Altair mentioning a 'gramps' but that was it.

The hall ended and he entered the kitchen. It was a huge, modern, thing with an island, and a bar that separated it from the dining room. The fridge door was open. "How long'll my clothes take?" Desmond asked the open fridge door.

Altair peered around it, having to lean back in order to see Desmond, "I put it on a short cycle, only like twenty minutes."

"Cool," Desmond tried really hard not to be awkward even though he was. He was standing in Altair's kitchen in Altair's clothes after they'd met at a club and had some really good sex. He didn't know how he wasn't supposed to be awkward about this.

He was about to say something to break the weird, brief, silence was but Altair beat him to it. "I'm making breakfast. Want some?"

Desmond blinked. Was this guy ever going to  _stop_  surprising him? He didn't know if his heart could handle it. "You cook?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. Now do you want any or am I just cooking for me?" Altair rolled his eyes a bit.

"Uh, sure," Desmond said.

"Any allergies?"

"No," Desmond shook his head, "I kinda eat whatever's put in front of me."

Altair smirked, "Good to know. Go sit," he pointed at the bar where there were some stools. Desmond wandered over to it and sat as Altair continued to rummage through the fridge. Then he turned from it with a carton of eggs, one of those big, soft, Jimmy Dean, sausages, cream cheese, chives, green onions and a half gallon of milk all balanced in his arms as an unsteady tower. He set them all on the granite counter top next to the range, which was in the counter perpendicular to the bar. Altair opened some cupboards and pulled out salt and pepper, something that looked dastardly and red, a bowl, a small knife from the block in the corner of the counter and a whisk. It all went next to the food.

"So," Desmond said as Altair used the knife to cut open the Jimmy Dean, "didn't kick me out right away. Reason being?" he honestly was curious. Last time he'd literally been told to get the fuck out without so much as a 'good morning'. Now he was getting  _breakfast_.

"My grandpa isn't home," Altair said, taking a frying pan off the hanger on the wall and putting it over some heat. "I don't bring guys home when he's home."

"What about your parents?"

"They wouldn't care."

Altair's tone was off, "Can I ask why?" he tested.

Altair looked at him, eyes hard, "No, you can't."

"Okay," well that was the end of that! No need to piss off the host after all. Altair made a few patties from the sausage with the red powder before tossing them into the frying pan where they started to sizzle immediately. "Thanks for making me breakfast," Desmond said. "My mom doesn't even make my breakfast," he joked.

"I always make breakfast," Altair shrugged.

"Even on school days?" Altair nodded, "I didn't know you cooked."

"Wanna make something of it?" Altair asked as he cracked an egg, one handed, into the bowl he'd gotten, not even looking at it, but at Desmond.

"Nope," Desmond said with a half there smile. Girls liked when guys cooked for them, Desmond knew that. Fuck that  _guys_ liked other guys cooked for them. Quickest way to a man's heart was through their stomach and Desmond was a living embodiment of such a stereotype. Cook him food or feed him and he'd do whatever you wanted, he wasn't too picky, he liked his grub! He almost said what he was thinking too, that it was hot, that Altair cooked. Though Altair breathed and it was hot so it wasn't like he had to find something attractive about Altair beyond his infuriatingly handsome face. "I think it's cool, I can't cook for shit. Unless cereal counts," and he made Altair chuckle as he finished cracking the rest of the eggs into the bowl.

"Maybe if you were six," Altair teased.

"Might as well be, my parents say so anyway," and Altair seemed amused by that. Good to know he could amuse Altair who even during tutoring was sarcastic at best, and a maddening flirt at worst. Desmond wasn't even  _sure_  if Altair was flirting with him during those times either. It was kinda like how Altair breathing was hot, anything that came out of his mouth sounded flirty. Hadn't Desmond thought last night that Altair could turn on the dark and sexy like no one's business? Cause he could. He shifted thinking about it. Yeah, don't think Altair's sex voice, bad idea. Such a bad idea. On a scale of one to bad idea that was a  _terrible_  idea.

Thinking about not thinking about it made Desmond think about it and he pressed his head to the counter embarrassed. At least he wasn't hard. That would be totally mortifying. He was just... getting flustered. Damn Altair.

"You okay?" Altair asked.

"Yeah," he sighed. There was a lot of sizzling going on and the sound of a pan flashing. Desmond looked up from his arms as Altair poured the eggs, now scrambled, into another frying pan. "Just thinking of a good excuse to tell my dad," because it was a  _much_  safer topic to think about then Altair's sex voice that was so rough and dark yet like velvet in his ears and what did he say about  _not_  thinking about it?!

"Your dad an asshole?" and Desmond knew what he meant.

"Not really," he admitted. "I just said I was at a friend's house, not at a club and I don't know how I'm going to explain this fucking thing," he motioned to the huge hickey on his neck. Altair grinned in fiendish delight. "Asshole," he added. Altair just hummed superiorly.

"You were liking it," Altair said smugly.

"Yeah well I don't always make the best decisions during sex," Desmond grumbled.

"Here," and suddenly a plate was put in front of him along with a fork, knife, and napkin. It was half of an omelet of a size he couldn't eat alone, and some sausage patties.

"Thanks," Desmond sat up and cut into the patties. He took a bite and wasn't expecting the heat. "Woah," he blinked in surprise a few times. Altair chuckled and put a cup of water in front of him. Desmond got out a thanks before taking a deep sip. It honestly wasn't that spicy, but the shock of it had made it seem more spicy than it was. Altair put his own plate down across from him just as an alarm went off a distance away. The laundry. Altair left and Desmond ate. When Altair came back he just leaned against the counter, not bothering to take a chair.

"S'good?" Altair asked him.

"Yeah," Desmond nodded, working on the omelet, which had the cream cheese and chives in it and a welcome respite from the hot meat. "Where'd you learn to cook?" he asked once he'd swallowed.

"My  _giddo_ , grandfather, owns restaurants all over the state. He taught me," Altair shrugged.

"That's cool. He own any here?" Altair bobbed his head, his mouth full of omelet. "He go to school for it?"

"Served as a cook in Vietnam and went to culinary school after," Altair half shrugged. Shrugged like it was  _no big deal_.

"Wow. Seriously? That's so cool," Desmond wasn't even lying, that was awesome.

"I guess," Altair shrugged, "he's well known in the south. Some Food Channel shows have included them in show cases," he picked at his eggs, looking down, seeming disinterested in the topic. "He cooks really well, though now he mainly manages them now, too old to get behind the stone and flip pans. Did you even taste what I made?" Altair rose his brows at Desmond. Desmond had finished his food, pretty much inhaling it once he'd gotten over the hot sausage patties.

"I don't mess around with good food," was Desmond's only explanation. He leaned forward, "You going to go into the family biz?" he asked.

"Maybe," Altair shrugged, pushed his eggs around a bit before taking a bite. "I haven't decided," he looked at Desmond from under his brows. "You?"

"Me what?"

"What are you going to do."

"Go to MU and figure it out from there," he said proudly.

"Yeah? How you gonna get there? MU is one of the best schools in the state."

"I got the scores to get in. If MU doesn't work then UF or UCF," he shrugged.

"But you're into MU?"  
"Hell yeah! And it's an excuse to come home every weekend, eat all my parent's food and do free laundry," Altair laughed down at his plate, Desmond grinned broadly. "Also it's too cold anywhere north of Okeechobee, I hate the cold."

"Same," Altair nodded and pushed more eggs into his mouth. Altair ate slow. Desmond kinda wanted to ask where Altair was going, but didn't. Wasn't really his business. Altair was just finishing his eggs when the dryer alarm went off.

"That was quick," Desmond said, surprised.

"I didn't put it on too long, it isn't like it was a lot to dry," and Altair beckoned him off the stool, no doubt so Desmond could change. "I'll get your clothes," Altair said and Desmond went into Altair's room. Altair went down to another door and opened it, going inside.

Desmond sat on Altair's bed and only then realized he didn't know where his wallet, phone, or keys were. Shit. He hopped back up an it took only a few moments of searching to locate his phone, plugged in, on one of the dressers, his wallet and keys next to it. He checked his phone, it was locked. He entered the swipe password and checked if he had messages. Just from Clay.

'You awake yet?' 'Need me to come get you?' 'Actually you're damn right I'm gonna come get you. You owe me three questions! You can do laundry and shower at my house.' 'Text me when you want me to come get you,' all in about the span of two minutes, literally as fast as Clay could type. He sent a quick text saying he could come and pick Desmond up. Somehow he knew Clay knew where Altair lived and didn't question it. It was just easier if he didn't.

The door opened, Altair came in, Desmond's clothes folded in his arms and set them on the bed. "Need me to call a cab?" Altair asked him.

"Nah, Clay's coming to get me, thanks," Altair nodded and gave Desmond some privacy. Yeah, right, privacy. Second time Altair had seen Desmond naked. No such thing as privacy now. Desmond took off Altair's clothes, looked around briefly before spotting a laundry basket and tossing them in before grabbing his own clothes and tugging them on. He was now glad he hadn't worn his Batman briefs last night and instead just the blue ones. Only problem was that his shirt barely covered his hickey and this was going to be a  _problem_  he just knew it. God damnit Altair.

He checked his phone once he pulled on his shirt, he had another message from Clay 'on my way!' Desmond chuckled and shook his head helplessly, he did indeed know how to pick friends it seemed. Desmond went and quickly checked outside the door, Altair wasn't around. He closed the door and stayed in the room. He had problems. He really, really, had problems. First the incident with the iPhone and now he was snooping around Altair's room. He just wanted to see what the other guy had in his room of interest. There was a TV but no game station, the computer was rather old and didn't look often used but he saw a space that clearly belonged to a laptop. He didn't have posters on his walls but instead wall scrolls of plants and Arabic calligraphy. There was one picture on the wall though, a family portrait. It was Altair, maybe three years old, sitting on his mother's knee, his father next to him and clearly his grandfather behind. His dad looked like him, but older. Desmond couldn't help but think damn Altair would grow up to be  _fine_. Like he wasn't already hot as sin as it was.

There honestly wasn't much to snoop. Clearly Altair didn't spend a lot of time here, or if he did it was on his laptop, which wasn't here. So that was the end of that.

He left the bedroom after he located his shoes and jammed his feet into them. Altair was in the kitchen, finishing the clean up of breakfast. He looked when Desmond showed himself, "Thanks for washing my clothes," Desmond said.

Altair shrugged and looked back at his dishes, "Least I could do."

"My friend is coming to get me," he added and then his phone rang. He looked; text. 'Just turned off US1'.

"That him?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," and that was it. Less then five minutes later Clay called him for real and told him he was outside, at the end of the drive way, one he wouldn't go up since only serial killers or playboys had driveways like that. Altair at least walked him to the door. "Bye," Altair said, "I'll see you at school."

"Uhg, don't remind me," Desmond groaned, not even sarcastic. Don't remind him he had to sit in chemistry with this guy or tutor him and pretend he hadn't had Altair's dick in his mouth last night. He'd rather not have to deal with Altair ever again. But, life didn't work like that. At the very least he could make this as painless for himself as possible and just walked out, headed for Clay's car, and didn't look back.


	22. Chapter 22

Clay waited a full five minutes, till they’d turned onto US1, before staring at him while they waited for the light. Desmond wasn’t saying anything, he was looking ahead and pretending Clay didn’t look like he was about to vibrate out of car. The light turned green. “So-

“Don’t be an asshole,” Desmond started off.

“Have fun?” and Clay had the worst shit eating grin on his face.

Desmond slouched in the car seat, folding his arms over his chest, pouting, “Yes,” he grumbled.

“That’s nice,” Clay said and kept stealing glances at him as they left Stock Island, heading into Key West. “So… I get three questions?”

“Three,” Desmond said shortly.

“Okay,” and Clay was quiet, clearly thinking very hard on these. “Better, or worse, than Alex?”

Desmond flushed a little, “Depends on what you mean by better or worse,” he said, Alex was his ex who’d moved away in sophomore year, well more like he went off to school since he was a senior and Desmond a freshman.

“You know what I mean,” Clay nudged Desmond with a grin.

“Ahhh…” Desmond thought about that, “Better,” he decided, “he isn’t a jerk like Alex was.”

“Fair enough,” Clay grinned broadly, he knew all about Desmond’s grief he had with his ex who while a nice guy was so far in the closet he was in Narnia with Dean Winchester, and that was even while he was fucking Desmond. He was also a bit of an asshole to him, all the time really, when he wasn’t being nice at least. “Okay, next question. Was he drunk like last time and all the other times he hit on you?”

“No,” Desmond said and was still surprised by that.

“This doesn’t count as a question; so no whiskey dick?”

“No,” and he shoved Clay a bit as they turned onto Flagler.

“Last one. You going to see him again?”

Desmond leaned against the car door, “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I mean I have class and tutoring him with him but…” he bit his lower lip.

“Do you want to?”

“I don’t know,” Clay turned onto a side street.

“Really?” Clay gave him a look.

“Well I mean… I guess,” he rubbed his neck, careful of the giant hickey. “Altair doesn’t strike me as a guy who dates. He seemed to be used to his one-night stands. I mean, have you _ever_ seen him date? Once, since we’ve been going to school.”

“No,” Clay admitted as they pulled up to Clay’s house. “But multiple one-night stands?”

“I don’t wanna be someone’s booty call,” Desmond rolled his eyes and got out of the car.

“Hey man that shit goes both ways,” Clay said. “Or friends with benefits?”

“We aren’t friends though,” Desmond said as he followed Clay upstairs.

“Fuck buddies then?”

“ _Clay_ ,” he warned.

“What? It was an honest question is all. Also how the _hell_ are you gonna explain that hickey to your old man?”

Desmond groaned, “I don’t know. I don’t wanna think about it.”

“Fair enough. Want some breakfast?”

“No thanks, Altair fed me,” Clay came to a stop in the hallway.

“He _fed you_?” Clay asked.

“Yeah,” Desmond said.

“Shower then? Wash your clothes?” and Clay was giving him a really weird look.

“Uh… no,” Desmond said, “I showered at his place and he offered to wash my stuff.”

“Desmond that isn’t normal one-night stand behavior.”

“Will you shut up already?” Desmond grumbled and walked past him into Clay’s room. “It was a one time deal.”

“All I’m saying is that _maybe_ he likes you.”

“Altair doesn’t like me,” Desmond said and sat on the bed.

“You’re sure?”

“Trust me,” Desmond said, “he doesn’t like me.”

—

Desmond went home later that day. The hickey had gone down some by then but there was no denying that it was there either. Clay had suggested cover up, but with how purple it was there was no way he could do that. He hadn’t called ahead so didn’t know if his parents were home. He eased himself into the house and then froze. William was in the kitchen, making himself lunch. He looked up when Desmond came in.

“Have fun with Clay last night?” his dad asked.

“Ahhh. Yeah,” Desmond forced a smile and ease into his voice. “We had a lot of fun. I’m super tired still though, we were up real late so I’m just gonna take a nap,” and he tried to scuttle to his room without being noticed.

“Desmond,” William said and Desmond stopped and looked towards his dad in the kitchen. William had a no nonsense look on his face and _shit_ he wasn’t fooled at all. “You going to tell me what you really did last night?” he asked.

“I was with Clay,” Desmond said.

“All night?”

“All night,” Desmond lied.

“Then where’d you get that hickey?”

“Uhm… We kinda both got drunk and made out?” honestly it wasn’t that far fetched. William knew Desmond and Clay had dated for about three months as freshmen.

William gave him a look, “No you didn’t drink since I know Harold keeps his liquors locked up with the express purpose of you and his son from drinking it. Now. Tell me what you really did last night.”

“It wasn’t illegal,” was the first thing Desmond said.

“I don’t care. Tell me, what you did,” William said firmly, “Or you’re grounded indefinitely instead of however long for whatever you did or didn’t do.”

Desmond sighed and slouched, dejected, scuffed his shoe on the floor. Tell dad about going to a club and get grounded for a bit but probably have to suffer the Talk from his grown, straight, father about gay sex, or don’t tell dad about going to the club and get grounded until the end of time? It was honestly a hard decision to make. Neither option was exactly great. Finally he decided to just do it. “Me and Clay went out to the Bourbon last night,” he said and sucked on his bottom lip.

“You what?” William asked sharply.

“We went to the Bourbon,” Desmond pushed his hands into his pockets, slouching further, looking every inch of the dejected seventeen year old he was.

“You went to a club?”

“Technically it’s just a bar-

“The most well known gay bar in the city,” William specified.

“Well,” Desmond looked up at William, “I would only go to a gay bar dad. I am gay,” and that was no revelation. William knew Desmond was gay since middle school and he’d decided he didn’t want to kiss the girl he’d taken to the dance, not then, or ever.

“You’re not eighteen Desmond-

“I didn’t drink if that’s what you’re worried about,” Desmond said, “Me and Clay just had sodas.”

“You still went to the Bourbon and didn’t tell me or your mother. And how did you get that hickey on your neck?” he continued.

Desmond sighed deeply and rocked back on his feet, “I might… not have slept at Clay’s place last night,” he said awkwardly. William’s silence meant to keep talking, “and went home with someone else-

“Desmond-

“I knew them!” Desmond cried before William could go full over protective dick head on him. “They go to my school. So don’t go thinking I went home with some weird older guy-

“Desmond,” William sighed. He rubbed his face and some muttering, all he caught was ‘just like his brother’. Great, he was being compared to his older brother, again. While not a fuck up Duncan was pretty damn close and an endless headache for their dad. Then William took a deep breath, presumably to not burst a blood vessel, “You said you knew this boy?”

“Yeah,” Desmond nodded, “he’s in my chemistry class,” and that at least seemed to reassure William some that his son honestly hadn’t gone home with some guy in his thirties.

“I don’t… want specifics, but just tell me you two were safe,” and Desmond turned bright red.

“Of course we were, I’m not an idiot, dad,” he said hotly, embarrassed and mortified he was actually going to have this talk with his father.

“Okay,” William sighed and rubbed his face. “Just so long as you’re safe you know me and your mother don’t really care that you’re… sexually active,” and man this was as awkward for his dad as it was for Desmond. Maybe more so but Desmond was about a thousand percent sure William wasn’t more mortified and horrified than he was right now.

“I am,” Desmond said, trying to be normal but really was trying to make his blush go down.

“Good. Now. You’re grounded-

“What? But dad-

“No but dad,” William said sternly. “You lied to me and your mother and went to the Bourbon instead of Clay’s-

“Clay was with me-

“AND,” William gave Desmond a stern look, “went into a club with a fake ID so lets have it,” he held out his hand. Desmond hesitated, “You can be grounded for three weeks if you don’t hand it over, or one week if you do,” William said. Grumbling Desmond reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed it to his dad. “Grounded,” William said once he had the ID, “one week. No  activities after school, no club, no friends, no video games, no TV, no computer, no Clay,” he said Clay very specifically. “You go to school and you come home and you go to work and you come home. Understand?” he asked very seriously.

“Yesss,” Desmond groaned.

“Good. Now go to your room, we’ll get you when dinner’s ready,” and Desmond sulked his way into his room, closing the door behind him and throwing himself onto his bed. He grabbed a pillow and yelled into it. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was saying that just because it hadn’t been a hurricane a wind storm was good. He sulked there since he couldn’t do anything else and waited for dinner. He didn’t even answer Clay’s texts. It was going to be a _miserable_ week.


	23. Chapter 23

Desmond literally jumped when someone rapped their knuckles on his desk. Caterina looked over with Desmond and Desmond did his best not to pull off his best impression of a tomato. Next to him Caterina sighed, clearly disgusted in Altair for some reason (might have had something to do with Ezio getting back with his on again off again girlfriend Rosa) and looked away. The bell hadn’t rung yet for chemistry. “Uh…” Desmond swallowed awkwardly. He hadn’t talked to or really even looked at Altair in a few days. All he could think when he looked at him was what he felt like touching him, kissing him, fucking him. It made his overactive imagination run wild. He’d canceled tutoring saying he had work when he didn’t, since he didn’t want to be alone with Altair.

"We on for after school?" Altair asked him, standing in front of his desk, hands holding him up on it. Desmond’s eyes flicked down to his hands. Head out of the gutter Desmond. They went back up to Altair’s face. "Or you going to cancel again?"

"I can stay," Desmond blurted out. He hadn’t meant to say that. He had a week and a half before winter break and he was going to South Dakota. He just wanted to stay as far from Altair as possible. Clearly that wasn’t possible.

"Great. I might be running a little late though," he pulled out his phone. "Give me your number so I can text you when I’m on my way," and Desmond rattled off his number without even thinking. As soon as the last number was out of his mouth did he realize what he’d just done and wished he could snatch the numbers out of the air and Altair’s phone and pretend he’d never said them. "I shouldn’t be long," and then the bell rang. Altair turned away from him and went and sat on his seat. Desmond stared after him, mortified.

"You okay, Des?" Caterina asked.

"I just…" Desmond whined miserably. Why had he done that?

"Since when were you and Altair so buddy buddy anyway?" Caterina asked him. "I hang around him and that pig Ezio and not even I have his number."

"I… don’t-" but then the teacher got up and started taking roll. "I have no idea," he hissed at Caterina softly.

"Lucky," she chuckled a little, "I know quite a few people who’d give anything to be in Altair’s contacts-

"Ms. Sforza, unless you have something to share, please stop talking," the teacher.

"Sorry," she said and ducked her head, she gave Desmond a look with raised brows. Desmond just sank into his chair, staring at the back of Altair’s head. He shouldn’t be upset though. His crush had his phone number. That was supposed to be a good thing! Why did he feel so shitty then?

When school ended Desmond went to the library. He was allowed to have his phone at school in case something happened but as soon as he got home he had to surrender it to his dad. At least his dad couldn’t read his messages. He waited with his flash cards and the chem book and sighed. he looked at his phone, waiting for a text and dreading it at the same time. After a moment he brought up the conversation he had going with Clay. The thread was a few thousand messages long.

'i did something stupid'

'yeah? What?' Clay asked back and Desmond bet he was already home.

'Voldemort has my phone number'

'Grats!'

'CLAY!'

'wat? Don't be a limp dick this means you can text him and flirt. Man y i gotta be the one to tell you this?'

'but…'

Desmond was interrupted from texting Clay by three texts in rapid succession.

'they canceled' 'be there in a sec' 'this is altair btw'

'He just texted me,' Desmond told Clay and went back and looked at the conversation he was now having with Altair. Did he reply? Did he save the contact? He settled for saying 'k' because he was a wimp.

'wat he say?'

'just that he'd be here soon.'

'Excellent. Try and get a smooch ;)'

'CLAY!'

'lololololols'

'I hate you'

'<33'

'</3'

'ToT'

Desmond put his phone screen down when Altair pulled the chair out opposite him and sat. “Sorry about that. I was going to take longer but asshole canceled on me,” though Altair seemed weird for some reason, his words a bit jilted.

"Its fine," Desmond said and couldn’t look at him. "So, start with vocab? We’ll work on the homework after."

"Sounds good," Altair said. "How’s your spanish skills?" Altair grinned cheekily at him.

"About as good as your chem skills," Desmond scowled at him and Altair laughed. "I don’t know how you’re good at everything but chem," Desmond huffed.

"And English," Altair reminded him.

Desmond blew a raspberry, “Whatever. Fucking genius screw off,” and Desmond got the vocab. “What is this?” Desmond asked showing him the word. Altair told him. They went through all the vocab with Altair only missing a few.

"Can we meet over break?" Altair asked him when they finished and Desmond nearly gave himself whiplash he looked at Altair so fast. "I’ll forget all this shit over break and I’m not good at studying on my own."

Desmond’s mouth moved a bit without making a noise. “I’m going away for the break so. Sorry,” he said.

"Damn. Where you going?"

"South Dakota."

Altair blinked, “Why the hell are you going to that square state?”

"One; it isn’t square," Altair rolled his eyes at that, "Two; I’m from South Dakota. My family is there. My grandparents, brothers-

"You have brothers?" Altair interrupted and leaned forward and Desmond swore he actually looked interested.

"Uh… yeah. Two of them," he said awkwardly.

"I didn’t know that. They go to Key West?"

"No," Desmond shook his head. "Dylan’s like thirty and Duncan graduated before we moved."

"Wait… your brothers’ names are Dylan and Duncan… and you’re Desmond."

"Yeah?" Desmond said slowly.

"Did your parents name you all D names on purpose or…?"

Desmond scowled at him. “They’re family names since you’re so nosey about it. And what about Altair huh? Your parents named you after a constellation.”

"Yeah, cause I’m gonna be a star," and he gave Desmond the cheesiest grin ever. Why did he like this guy again?

"Oh please," Desmond rolled his eyes. "So, homework," and he opened the textbook. Altair groaned. "Oh c’mon it isn’t the bad."

"Chemistry is so useless," Altair huffed and thumped back in his chair. "Why do I have to learn it?"

"Considering you use it all the time I’m surprised you think that," Desmond said.

"Excuse me?"

"You told me you cook a lot," Desmond said and he wasn’t awkward till after he said it. He’d been good about not thinking about being at Altair’s house or Altair cooking him breakfast which of course led to less chaste thoughts. He pushed on, "Cooking is nothing but chemistry."

"Yeah but not like this," Altair tapped the open book. "This is all boring shit and has to be super exact. Cooking isn’t exact, and its fun!"

Desmond scowled at him, “You’re just trying to find an excuse to prolong doing homework,” he put the book in front of Altair, “Read,” he ordered. Altair groaned.

"And you?" Altair asked, giving him a look.

"I read it already when we started the chapter," Desmond said. He tried to get all the reading he had to out of the way when they started a new section so he didn’t have to draw out the torture. Also so he could reread it easier. Altair scowled at him but started to read the part they had to. Desmond knew it’d take him awhile. He checked his phone.

'where r u?' was a message from his dad.

'tutoring, I told you.' Then he went to the conversation with Clay, 'well nothing bad has happened yet'

'You save his number yet stalker?'

'I'M NOT A STALKER! And no'

'Why not?'

'Am I allowed to?'

'he saved yours I don't see why not' 'You should save it as Voldemort lols'

'oh shut up'

'ur the one who's too much of a pussy to save your crush's number on your phone just cause he fucked you before you had the balls to ask him out'

Desmond didn’t respond, he just ignored it honestly. He did bring up Altair’s texts though and clicked save on the number. He contemplated a moment before just typing ‘Altair’ into the name. “I’m done,” Altair said and looked annoyed.

"Finished already? that was quick," Desmond said.

"It was a short passage," Altair shrugged.

"Okay. So now the actual problems," and Desmond grinned, Altair just groaned. Desmond laughed softly at him so he wasn’t yelled at by the librarian.


	24. Chapter 24

Everyone was crowded into Lucy’s little living room. Desmond was so sick of his house and his room he’d rather never see it again. Lucy’s mom worked at the Lower Keys Medical Center as a nurse and usually worked nights. Her step dad was out of town on some business trip. So the house was empty and that meant it was a perfect day for a party.

Which of course wasn’t what most people thought of when they thought of a party. They’d ordered pizza from Big John’s in the Key Plaza and Back to the Future was on in the background as they ate some of the best pizza on the island and Shaun set up the white board for D&D. It wasn’t club day, since it was Monday but no one but Shaun really had any obligations to be anywhere other than school tomorrow. Meaning they could stay out without worry since the last week of school was literally meaningless since midterms were after winter break. Except Shaun who had a long drive back home when they were finished.

"So how you going to kill us tonight Shaun?" Clay asked as he picked mushrooms off Lucy’s pizza for his since she didn’t do mushrooms.

"Oh I have some ideas," Shaun grinned rather diabolically and Desmond sighed.

"Why did I ever think it was a good idea for you to learn to DM?" he asked Shaun.

"Cause you wanted to play and no one else wanted to learn all the complicated rules," Shaun said matter of factly and put Becca’s crust in his mouth while he drew out the map on the whiteboard.

"Right," Desmond sighed. "I’m looking forward to being poisoned to death."

"I wouldn’t do that, Naga has antidote potions," Shaun said, carefully drawing out some squares on the board. "Also you have the ability to cure yourself."

"I do?" Desmond looked at his character sheet. Gerard was a newish character after Shaun had killed the last one. He wasn’t so up to date on what paladins could or couldn’t do.

"Yes," Shaun said.

Desmond reviewed his sheet. “Wow, I do, imagine that,” Desmond said. “The perks at starting at level ten for once,” he grinned.

"Cause I’m tired of you dying from kobolds," Shaun huffed.

"We shouldn’t be able to die from kobolds!" Clay cried.

"And yet you managed to fall off a tower during your first fight with them and were knocked out long enough for them to stab you. You deserved that," Shaun said, not looking at any of them and consulted his notebook full of horrifically diabolical things. They’d died so many times because of that notebook. Desmond was a much nicer DM and gave out sweet loot and rather easy enemies. He wanted them to have fun and fight shit. Shaun liked them to skill check and kill them.

"At least it isn’t Magic," Becca chimed in.

"How could that be worse?" Clay asked.

"You kidding? You’re all super competitive and want the best everything. Magic would be your worst nightmare come true."

There was a pause, “You seem to know a bit about the subject,” Desmond said.

"Yeah how do you know anything even about Magic?" Lucy asked.

"Uh…" now everyone was looking at Rebecca. "I… might have a deck," she said awkwardly.

"You have a Magic deck? Since when?"

"Fig got me into it!" she cried defensivly. "It’s really fun," she hunched over a bit.

"Becca. We’re all here playing D&D you honestly think we give a crap you play Magic?" Desmond asked.

"D&D and Magic are totally different levels of geek," Rebecca said. "Both equally frustrating-

"Well no Magic now. Board’s ready," Shaun put the white board on the ground between them and Lucy got off Clay’s lap to sit between him and Rebecca. "Ready?"

"This is a new campaign right?" Lucy asked around some pizza.

"Yes."

"Okay. That’s it, go ahead," she was looking at her character sheet.

"Okay," Shaun clapped his hands together, "this is the town of Magrid, you’ve all been summoned here by the mayor because children have started to disappear during the night-

—

Gerard entered the town, leading his horse along by his lead. Amelia and Naga were riding along on her back since Gerard was a gentleman and let the ladies ride instead of him. Marco was several hundred feet behind, panting after them as he tried to catch up. Gerard had told him not to poke that chest they’d seen along the way, but he had. One day the little halfling would learn.

Magrid wasn’t a big town. It had a town hall, an inn or two, a mill, a smith, a few stores, houses all around, and fields full of golden wheat surrounding it. He picketed his horse in front of the town hall and helped Naga down off his horse. Amelia didn’t need any help. Dwarves weren’t made for horses though.

"Where’s Marco?" Amelia asked as she adjusted her bow and redid her hair.

"Oh, he’s coming," Gerard said and pointed down the road to the rogue who was making his slow way up to them.

"Do we have to wait for him?" Amelia asked.

"I don’t want to," Naga agreed.

"You two don’t have to, I will," Gerard said.

"Too much of a good guy for your own good Gerard," Amelia said and went into the town hall. Gerard waited for Marco to show up and then he picked the halfling up and tucked him under his arm and followed after the girls.

"Gerard put me down!" Marco howled.

"Yeah, later," Gerard didn’t even notice the halfling’s flailing. He brought the both of them before the mayor who was talking with Amelia. Amelia was nodding sharply every now and then and Gerard let her learn why they had to do. Gerard just did what was needed of him and didn’t do most of the thinking. He had his hammer and his sword and he hit things with them or ran them over on his stallion. He let Amelia and, sometimes, Marco, do the thinking. He and Naga were there to go on adventures.

He set Marco down and Marco blustered and shoved him aside and went over to Amelia and the Mayor. The Mayor was frowning and Amelia looked concerned. Gerard and Naga were in peaceful, ignorant, bliss.

"It’s horrible," Amelia said to them. "Something is coming and stealing children. We need to find out what and why," her noble half elfish face looked so twisted when she looked like this.

"Lets go then!" Naga said enthusiastically, ‘Where do we start?"

"The mayor gave us the names of each of the families who lost a child. We should go talk to them," Amelia said.

"Together?" Gerard asked.

"We’ll make better time if we split up," and Amelia gave them each a map of the town, the houses they were to investigate marked with Xs. "We’ll meet back at the center square once we go to each house," Gerard looked at his map, he had three houses mapped. They all had three houses. Twelve children had been taken.

"Okay, I’ll see you guys," and they left the town hall and Gerard went to his first house.

A young, fairly pretty, woman answered the door. “Hello, can I help you?” she asked him.

"I’m Sir Gerard Stewart. I’m here to find the missing children. I’m sorry for you loss. May I come in and ask you some questions?"

"Sure," and she let him in. "So what can I do for you Sir Gerard?"

When Gerard went into the house he felt a chill down his spine. Evil had been to this house. He could feel it. He pretended like everything was normal. “When did your child go missing?”

"A few days ago."

"What time?"

"I don’t know. I went to visit a friend while he played in the house and after I went to the store. When I came back he was gone. The doors and windows were all locked when I got home," her voice was thick like she was about to cry.

"Don’t cry ma’am. Me and my friends are going to find your son. Do you have any enemies?" she shook her head, "Has any other strangeness happened to your family before this?" again a shake of her head. "Okay, that’s all, thank you," and he left. He went to the next house and felt the same feeling of evil in the house. The second mother told much the same story, as did the third, and there was still that lingering evil in the house.

He met back up with the others in the central square. “What did you find out?” Amelia asked them when they were all there and started with Gerard.

"The women said they had no enemies and all the children were taken while they were out of the house. I also sensed a lingering sense of evil in the house, but I couldn’t tell what it was."

"No idea?" Amelia asked.

"Nope," Gerard frowned.

"Well I found out that all the women had husbands who, in the past, weren’t loyal," Marco said, "and one of the husbands is at the very least dead. Any dead husbands for you?"

"All of my women were remarried," Naga said. "They’re husbands died and they remarried, had other children. The ones taken were from their first husbands."

"I found out that there have been strange things happening in the farms outside of town," Amelia said. "Animals slaughtered and all that’s left is there blood and really Desmond turn off your phone it’s gone off three times already-

"Sorry, christ," Desmond said and crawled over to his phone in his backpack on the couch. The others were giving him annoyed looks. "I didn’t think anyone would text me, my parents know I’m here," and other than the people in the room the only people who texted him were his parents,

"Well put it on silent," Lucy huffed.

"I will I will, keep going," he waved at them as he dug the phone out of his backpack. They went back to talking about the woman and the dead husbands and crazy missing children and animals. He checked the text and his eyebrows went up to his hairline. He had three texts from Altair.

'hey' 'you busy right now?' 'I'm bored and you're entertaining'

"You okay Des?" Clay asked and he didn’t realize he’d actually squeaked until Clay had said something.

Desmond stood up and went over to Clay and dragged him to his feet. “Hey!” Shaun called, “Where you going-

"Be right back," Desmond said and he pulled Clay down the hall and into the bathroom.

"I swear they’re worse than you two," Shaun huffed as Des closed the door.

"Hey man, what’s the big emergency," Clay said and Desmond shoved his phone under Clay’s nose. "… Oh," he said, eyes widening. "Well…"

"What the hell does that mean?" Desmond hissed.

"I think that’s what they call a booty call…" Clay said.

Desmond turned bright red, “I’m not a booty call!” Desmond whisper yelled.

"Uh… well… Altair seems to think so," Clay said and leaned back against the door. As they stood there another text came in. "What’s it say?"

Desmond looked at it, “Or is this a bad time?”

"Well you going to answer him?"

"I… What do I even say?" Desmond whined.

"You could say you aren’t a booty call… but…"

"But? What’s the but in there?"

"If you’re his booty call it could work both ways," Clay said slowly. "So you could… you know."

"Oh my god I-" he looked from Clay, to the phone, and then back to Clay.

"He’s into you," Clay said.

"He’s into my body, there is a difference."

"Who cares you get to have sex with your hot crush.  Tell him yes but you’re busy at this second and maybe in a few hours."

"What! Clay I can’t just-

"Oh for the love of god you’re ridiculous," Clay grabbed Desmond’s phone and turned away from  Desmond. Desmond cried out and tried to get it. Clay just shoved him away and typed out the text. "Here you go," he handed the phone back to Desmond. Desmond looked at it to see what trouble Clay had gotten him in.

'Busy right now. Later tonight okay?'

"Clay!" he cried miserably.

"Oh shut up I’m doing you a favor."

"You just made me a booty call!" Desmond whined.

"Eh, you’ll get over it. Now c’mon, I wanna keep playing," and Clay left the bathroom.

Desmond stared after him and whined loudly. Then another text came in. He didn’t want to look at it, but he did. ‘Great, text when you’re on your way.’

Oh he was so fucked.


	25. Chapter 25

Desmond was waiting in the pizza line in the cafeteria the next day. Last night was still fresh in his mind and he really not looking forward to chemistry.

"So have fun last night?" Clay cut in line next to him. He looked at his friend, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him.

"Don’t you ever do that again," he said still shaking Clay.

"Hey hey! Hands off the merchandise," he pushed Desmond’s hands off him. "But you have fun?"

"I’m going to murder you in your sleep," Desmond growled darkly.

"That wasn’t an answer," Clay said as they got up to where they could take their styrofoam trays. "Have fun?"

Desmond blushed a little, “Yeah,” he said quietly.

"Then worth it!" Clay cried happily. "I get three?"

"You going to bother me till you do?"

"Yeap!"

Desmond sighed, “Then fine,” and he got himself some cheese pizza. Or what passed as cheese pizza. It was more like soggy cardboard with cheese on it and it wasn’t mac and cheese day sadly. “Once we get outside,” he said and Clay nodded also getting a pizza.

"Fine fine. No need to air your sexy lingerie for everyone to see," and Desmond jabbed him in the ribs for that.

They paid for their lunch and went outside. “Three questions,” Desmond gave Clay an annoyed look.

"Okay. What’d you do?"

Desmond flushed, “I don’t know why you care-

"Because you’re my best bud and I care about everything you do. Also it’s one of the only interesting things going around school right now. Everyone else is boring. You at least resemble something interesting."

"You need other hobbies," Desmond told him.

"Just answer the question before you have to tell the others," Clay said as they made their way over to their friends by the band room.

Desmond groaned and rubbed his face, “We jerked each other off. That was it. I have a curfew. Geeze you’re making this so much more embarrassing than it should be and that’s besides the fact that I was a booty call last night,” Desmond scowled at him.

"You got to touch your crush’s dick why are you complaining?"

"Because I can; that was question two-

"Hey no fair!" Clay cried.

"It is so fair! You’re a damn crazy person so to hell with you," Desmond said as they sat on the concrete bench around the planter.

"Fine. You going to call him again?"

"Who’s Desmond going to call?" Lucy asked.

"Does Desmond have a boyfriend?" Rebecca was right there with Lucy to look interested. Only Shaun looked uninterested that Desmond might have a boyfriend.

"What no-

"Yes," Clay said at the same time.

"I don’t!" Desmond smacked Clay’s leg. "He’s not my boyfriend, for fucks sake stop making this more than it is."

"Who is it?" Lucy asked with a grin.

"It isn’t Clay so he’s madly jealous at the moment, sorry Lucy," Desmond said and she giggled.

"Only cause I’m way out of his league," Clay said around the pizza he was trying to shove into his mouth in one bite.

"Yeah, way below me," Desmond said. "No offense Lucy, but you totally down graded."

She shrugged with a slight smile, “Ah well. He’s good for what he is,” and she leaned over and kissed Clay’s cheek.

"But really who’s the guy Desmond?" Rebecca asked, leaning over Shaun’s lap with her Monster and Cheetos as Shaun tried to eat his packed salad.

"There isn’t a guy," Desmond huffed.

"Then why’d Clay ask if you were going to call him back?"

"Because he’s totally delusional and thinks that just because two people breathe in the same area they should hook up."

"Hey. All my predictions are true," Clay said, sounding offended.

"Rauf and Yusuf," Desmond said as a way to prove his point.

"Okay that hasn’t happened yet. But it will,” Clay said.

Desmond rolled his eyes, “There is no guy. I don’t have a boyfriend and Clay no I won’t be calling my imaginary boyfriend back because if I had one he’d be a total flake.”

"Got our hopes up for nothing," Rebecca complained and retreated back to Shaun’s other side so Shaun could actually finish his lunch without his girlfriend practically lying across his lap.

"So sorry Rebecca. I’m sure you’ll live somehow between your anime and Shaun," Desmond said snippily.

"Heeey, no need to be a dick about it," Becca whined and frowned at him.

"Yeah, mate, chill out you know  she’s harmless," Shaun said giving Desmond a look.

"Sorry," Desmond hunched a little and ate his lunch. "I just want break to come."

"You’re telling me," Shaun said.

"I don’t," Lucy sighed.

"Why not?" Desmond asked.

"I’m going to see my dad for break and I really don’t want to. He has a new girlfriend and my brother told me she is craaazy."

"Yeah but you get to see Nick and your dad so suck it up you’ll be fine," Desmond said.

"I know," she sighed. "I’ll be by myself though. No friends, no boyfriend," she leaned over to kiss Clay on the cheek again.

"You’ll live. I’m going to South Dakota and seeing the entire Miles clan," Desmond groaned. "It’s some sort of reunion I think. It’s going to be absolutely insane since my dad has three brothers and two sisters."

"Wow," Lucy said, "You have a really extended family."

"Yeah," Desmond sighed. "So I envy you just having to deal with your dad and his crazy new girlfriend. I already know my dad and Duncan are gonna go at it."

"Can they even be in the same room without fighting?" Clay asked. Clay had met Duncan. He and William got along like oil and vinigar.

"Hopefully. Dylan’s going to be around and my mom, so they’ll make them play nice."

"That’s good," Lucy said.

"Also I’m going to South Dakota I think I beat you on shitty state I’m from," Desmond added.

Lucy laughed, “Iowa is really bad too though,” she said, smiling.

"You two are so white," Shaun said, "arguing about who’s from the worst land locked state."

Everyone looked at Shaun in annoyance, “Says the ginger from Britain,” Clay said, unamused,

"I’ll have you know that-

"Oh shut up Shaun you don’t even remember Britain stop acting like you’re from there just cause you have your parents’ accent," Clay said. Shaun scowled at all of them but then went back to his salad. "So, volleyball is still on for this week. Who’s coming?"

"I am!" Rebecca said cheerfully and waved from around Shaun.

"And you two?" Clay looked at Lucy and Desmond.

"I’ll try," Lucy said.

"Probably," Desmond said.

"Excellent," Clay grinned. "You wanna come over today?" Clay asked Desmond.

"Sure," and he pulled out his phone to text his parents about it.

"I don’t get to?" Lucy asked.

"My dad doesn’t like when you’re over and he isn’t-

"Like that’s stopped you before," Lucy gave Clay a look knowing he was full of bull shit.

Clay puffed out his cheeks. “Dude things babe, c’mon don’t be a killjoy here,” Clay whined.

"Okay. But I get to come over tomorrow."

"Done and done," Clay promised.

"So no club today?" Rebecca asked.

"We had club yesterday," Desmond said.

"Two club days?" she asked hopefully.

They all looked at Shaun, he looked up at them, “You mean you all want me to try and kill you again? One would think taking on a vampire coven would be enough for you guys for a week.”

"So is that a no?" Rebecca asked and gave him a pitiful look.

Shaun looked somewhat annoyed. “If Desmond wants to. It’s his stuff.”

"Sure. I don’t mind. That cool Clay? We can just talk there."

"Sounds good," Clay nodded.


	26. Chapter 26

The last day of school was a mess. No one really gave a shit about what was going on and even the teachers didn’t didn’t actually really care. Everyone just wanted the day to be over. Desmond was included in that number. When the day was finally over he bid goodbye to his friends. School let out on the twenty-second and he and his parents were taking an early flight out of Key West to Miami and the to Dallas and finally landing in Rapid City tomorrow. So he had to go home, pack and get ready to leave for one of the longest days of travel in his life.

When he got home his mom was baking cookies. “Christmas cookies?” he asked hopefully.

"Of course they are," his mom said, "though not as good as the ones I could be making."

"Too damp?" he asked.

"Too damp," she agreed. "You all packed?"

"I just have to pack my gear," Desmond said, "Clothes are all packed up though."

"Good. Now. I just put the last batch in the oven and I have this bowl-

"I’ll clean it!" Desmond bounced into the kitchen, dropping his backpack and going to grab the bowl from the standing mixer and the baking spatula. Chloe laughed as he sucked the batter off the spatula and groaned. "You make the best cookies mom," Desmond said comepletly and utterly happy to get to eat the leftover batter.

"Well I’m glad you think so. I’m making them to give to some of the girls before we leave since I won’t be here for Christmas."

"And we get to take some with us right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes we do," she said as Desmond started to scrape the bowl with the spatula. "I figure we can have them on the plane."

"You’re the best," and he leaned over and kissed his mom on the cheek.

"I try," she said. "Now finish that up and finish packing. Your father wants to be out the door by eight."

"You got it," Desmond saluted her and ate the rest of the cookie dough. "Can I have a cookie when they’re done?"

"Yes," she said. He nodded and washed out the bowl for her before retreating into his room, grabbing his backpack before doing so.

He took everything out of his backpack and put his books and notebooks away and got put things he needed in there. He put in a fresh shirt and underwear in there and his DS, his case of games, and a book. The rest was just for his toothbrush, deodorant and a little thing of toothpaste. Desmond traveled light.

Once he was packed he parked himself in front of his PS3 and started to play Uncharted. He played until his mom called him that the cookies were done and once he had two of them and a cup of milk in hand he was back in front of it. He was at once looking forward to and not looking forward to this family reunion. He wanted to see his brothers again, since he hadn’t seen them in a while, and his grandparents. But he had a hoard of cousins and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing all of them. They were from South Dakota and were really conservative. They (of course) didn’t approve of Desmond being gay, or of Duncan being… well being Duncan really.

He tried not to think too hard about it, it’d just make him angry. Instead he just played Uncharted.

When dinner came around he went out to eat with his parents. “You all packed?” William asked.

"Yeap," Desmond nodded.

"Good. After dinner take your bag out to the car so we don’t have to do it in the  morning."

"Okay," he could do that. "What time do I need to wake up?"

"We’re living at eight, so be ready by then," WIlliam said. Desmond nodded. "How was the last day of school?"

"It was a fucking zoo-

"Desmond," Chloe cut in, "language. There are going to be children where we’re going so you need to watch your mouth."

"Sorry mom," Desmond said and pushed his food around his plate.

"Since unlike me my siblings all have grandkids-

"Daaaaad," Desmond groaned and slumped forward. "You have grandkids."

"More than," William said though was smirking.

"Ahg. Well bother Dylan or Duncan about that. Kids are so not in my future," he knew part of it was just William being annoying and having fun at Desmond’s expense. Still it sometimes got so old. "Not in this state at any rate."

"Oh come on Desmond, your father’s just having a go at you," Chloe said.

"I know but," he whined.

"I hate to see what he’d be like if any of you were girls," Chloe tutted.

"You kidding?" Desmond asked in exasperation. "Forget kids he’d glare at every guy who looked at us till they spontaneously combusted!" and William laughed at that. "He’d never get any grandkids if you had all girls. He’d scare all the guys away."

"Probably," William agreed, chuckling.

Chloe gently smacked William’s arm, “Well I would have something to say about that since you aren’t the only one who wants grandkids,” she said.

"Yes dear."

"Can I be excused?" Desmond asked, he’d cleared his plate by now.

"Yes," Chloe said and Desmond picked his plate and himself up from the table and put it in the dishwasher. There were no leftovers since they were finishing up all the food in the fridge as they’d be gone for a month more or less. So he put the pan in the sink to soak before it also went into the washer at the end of the night.

Desmond went into his room and saw his phone winking at him from his bed next to his controller. He sat on the bed and picked up his phone and opened it to look at the message and his brows went up. What the hell was Altair doing texting him at this time of night?

'You busy?' the text said and Desmond turned crimson.

'Why?' he texted back feeling like a complete wuss. Altair had texted him while he was in dinner.

Altair texted back immediately, ‘I’m bored.’

'How is that my problem?'

'Come over and alleviate it?' and Desmond turned red again. Another booty call. He pressed his hand to his cheek and felt it was hot.

'And just what does that entail?'

'You know.'

Yes. Yes Desmond did know. He wanted it. He also didn’t. Because fuck he wanted a boyfriend not a booty call. He didn’t know why he kept texting Altair though. ‘I can’t spend the night.’

'Okay.' 'Coming over or not?'

Desmond chewed his bottom lip. He was enjoying having sex on a semi regular basis. He grabbed the keys and his helmet. “Clay wants me to come over,” Desmond said as he went back out to the living room.

"What?" William asked, he was helping Chloe with the dishes. "Desmond we’re leaving in the morning."

"I know but he needs some moral support about Lucy," Desmond said and looked at his mom.

"Your curfew is midnight," Chloe said and gave William a look when he went to argue.

"I’ll be back by then-

"Oh, and take him these," and Desmond found himself being given a tupperware of christmas cookies. "I know Harold probably isn’t going to bake cookies for his son."

"Thanks," Desmond said awkwardly and went back into his room to grab his mostly empty backpack. He put the tupperware in the backpack. "I’ll be back before midnight, promise," he called as he headed for the front door.

"You better young man, we have an early morning tomorrow," William called.

"Yes dad!" Desmond called back and closed the door. He shouldered his backpack and pulled out his phone. ‘I’ll be there in a few minutes,’ Desmond texted Altair and got on his bike. His kawasaki sputtered and rumbled to life before he headed off base.

—

Altair opened the door for him when he rang the bell. “Hi,” Desmond said, he was a lot less nervous and awkward about it than last time.

"You got here quick," Altair said and didn’t seem surprised by that in the slightest.

With a slight wince Desmond took off his backpack and took out the tupperware of cookies. “Uh… these are for you,” because he couldn’t just go home with a tupperware of cookies, his mom would ask why Clay hadn’t wanted them since Clay was always into his mom’s home cooked meals. Herald didn’t really cook and Clay ate take out a lot since his mom had died.

Altair took the container with confusion, “You… brought me Christmas cookies? You realize I’m a Muslim right?”

"They’re from my mom," Desmond said awkwardly, "I told her I was going to Clay’s and she told me to take them with me so… cookies."

"Hmm," Altair looked at them, "They don’t look too bad."

"My mom made them; they’re amazing."

"Okay, I’ll eat them later," though Desmond got the feeling that Altair appreciated the gift of cookies more than he was letting on. Desmond didn’t think too much on it.

"I have to be home before midnight," Desmond said and followed Altair into his big, beautiful, kitchen where he put the cookies in the fridge so they wouldn’t get soft in the humid air.

"Okay," Altair said.

"So what’d you have in mind?" Desmond asked and wrung his hands a bit.

Altair turned and looked him up and down and Desmond had never had the experience of being completely disrobed by a pair of eyes until now. He honestly might as well have just been naked at that point from how Altair was looking at him. “I have some ideas.”


	27. Chapter 27

Predictably there was snow on the ground when they landed. And not a little bit of snow either. Snowdrifts three feet deep at the lowest lined all the roads and Desmond just felt cold looking at them. But then he was also pretty cold. He still had all his winter gear from living in cold as hell places and though his coat was a bit run down it was plenty warm. Between his coat, a scarf, a hat with flaps (he didn’t care if he looked like an idiot it was warm), and some flannel lined jeans he was pretty snug. But leaving the airport was pretty much tortuous.

There was no one waiting for them. The Black Hills were pretty close to Rapid City but not that close. So they rented a car and Desmond was so glad his dad cranked up the heat. Then they got on A16, a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere that led to nowhere and reminded Desmond of US1. Only instead of water on either side A16 was lined with hills and forests in all directions. And snow. Don’t forget the snow. Not that he really could of course.

In the back of the car Desmond checked his phone. He had a few missed texts from Clay and one from Rebecca but nothing important. It was nearly ten now, they’d been traveling all day. Desmond was exhausted and he wasn’t the only one. “How far to pop-pop’s?” Desmond asked.

"About an hour," William said, he was driving.

Desmond looked out to the passing scenery which was nothing but dark forests that blended into a black sky full of stars and a sheet of snow that covered everything that wasn’t covered in evergreens. “Wake me when we get there,” and he leaned over to rest his head against the window and fell asleep a few moments later.

The sound of Chloe’s voice woke him up. “Honey, we’re here,” she said and was leaned around the seat to gently shake his knee.

Desmond yawned. “Oh great,” he covered his mouth.

William parked his car alongside a bunch of other cars. His dad was the middle child of five children, so not only did Desmond have a handful of uncle and aunts but a metric fuck ton of cousins. He knew not all the cars belonged to his aunts and uncles, some of them belonged to his cousins or his brothers. They were all staying at nanny and pop-pop’s house.

House was putting it lightly though. The Miles were old money in South Dakota. Pop-pop owned a few thousand acres of land that was used for all sorts of things from farming to livestock to real estate. They ‘house’ was an estate of three houses all on a piece of property called the Black Miles Farm, or the Farm for short. The main house was the largest and the members of the Miles ‘clan’ pop-pop and nanny liked the most were allowed to stay in it when they visited. Otherwise it was the other houses across the property,

His grandparents were pretty loaded and his aunts and uncles were always fighting over who would inherit what. William was the only one who didn’t care. He had his rank in the military and that was taking care of his family. So though Desmond was from wealthy stock he didn’t ever see the benefits of that except around Christmas or his birthday.

"Help me get the bags out," William said and got out of the car. The perfectly warm car was then invaded by a harsh blast of cold air. That woke Desmond more than anything. Desmond shoved himself out of the car to get it over with as William popped the trunk. Desmond grabbed his bag and his mom’s. William took his own and his mom got his backpack for him and her carry on.

"Can we get out of the cold now?" Desmond asked, a cloud of his own breath was hanging out around his head.

William said nothing just headed for the door where a warm yellow light was coming from. The door opened for them and Desmond sighed happily as he stepped into the warmth of his grandparent’s home. The place was old but amazing. It had been built just before the Civil war when Dakota was a territory and not two states. It had been renovated and expanded over the years. It was now entirely self sufficient with a well, solar panels, a big garden and barn on the property Desmond would remember seeing his nanny in when he was little. The only outside ‘help’ they had was a wifi bubble located on all three houses.

"There you guys are! Just in time. Weather said it was going to snow again tonight," Desmond recognized the voice without looking. It was his uncle Mark. Short, squat and fat Mark looked like nanny more than pop-pop and didn’t look a thing like him or William who both looked very much like a Miles.

"Well if it’s one thing this place could use it’d be more snow," William said sarcastically, "Hey brother," and they embraced.

His mom and Mark exchanged pleasantries as well. Then mark looked at him like he was something gross, “Desmond,” he said as his only greeting and didn’t even move to hug him.

"Hey uncle Mark," Desmond said, too tired right now to care that he was a homophobic asshole. Mark was one of the kids pop-pop didn’t like. He didn’t know why Mark was in the big house unless it was too early to go to sleep.

"Where’s ma and pop?" William asked, drawing Mark’s attention away from Desmond. All the better for it. As he did Desmond and Chloe took off their coats and hung them up in the closet and took off their boots.

"In the kitchen," Mark said.

"Excuse me then. You got the bags Desmond? We’re sleeping on the second floor."

"Got ‘em," Desmond said and gave his dad a tired salute.

"C’mon honey let’s go find where we’re sleeping," his mom said and picked up some of the bags. Mark helped too, which was nice of him, but he just chatted up Chloe and pretended Desmond didn’t exist. Thankfully not all his aunts and uncles were like Mark; just most of them. Some of his cousins were better but most of them were dumb white people who’d never left South Dakota. Desmond and his brothers were the ‘weird’ ones, black sheep if there ever were.

"Did I hear someone just got here?" and Desmond turned around because he knew and liked the sound of that voice.

"Dylan!" Desmond cried.

Desmond’s brother looked like their dad thirty years ago with black hair, gray eyes, and more muscle than old man fat. He came from the other side of the hall. “Hey kid,” and he gave Desmond a noogie and kissed their mother on the cheek with a “Momma.” Dylan was the worst momma’s boy you ever saw. “You just get in?”

"After a long day of flying," Chloe said and was relieved when Dylan relieved her of a bag.

"Well pop-pop said you’re sleeping just down the hall, I’ll show you," Dylan said and showed them the way. "Other than the flight how was your day?"

"That was it. That was the entire day," Desmond said blandly. "We almost missed our flight from Denver too so that was fun."

"Yikes. Here we go. Momma you and dad are in here. Des you’re down the hall with Duncan. Whenever the hell he shows up," Dylan shrugged. Dylan was more in touch with Duncan than their parents. William was a bit disapproving and Chloe just tried not to start fires that were hard to put out. She knew they talked more over email.

"Thank you dear. Make sure your father doesn’t stay up too late. I’m going to get ready for bed though," and she and Dylan set the bags inside the room.

"So where am I?" Desmond asked Dylan because as usual Dylan knew exactly what was going on and what to do and how to do it. Dylan was literally the perfect son. Thankfully other than the whole grandkids thing their parents didn’t expected Duncan or Desmond to be like Dylan.

"Down here, c’mon. Thanks Mark, I got it," he took the bag from uncle Mark and then turned away from him without a second glance. "So, how you been kid?" Dylan asked.

"Okay. I graduate this year."

"Yeah? Smarty pants," he ruffled Desmond’s hair.

"Hey!" Desmond forced it flat again. "I can’t help it Florida is a dumb state," he complained.

Dylan chuckled, “No you can’t,” Dylan agreed. “Here,” he added at a room two doors down. Desmond wasn’t kidding when he said his grandparents literally lived in a mansion. The place was massive and while it could fit every member of the Miles family easily only the ones who didn’t piss them off got to stay in it.

"Thanks," Desmond sighed and trudged inside. "I think I’m gonna hit the sack too. Who else is here?"

"Me, Mark, Denise, David, Jessie, Frank, Nathan-

"So like more than half of them," Desmond said cutting his brother off, not needing a full roster.

"Yeah, about. Duncan isn’t here yet though."

"Okay," Desmond yawned. "Now really, I’m going to bed."

Dylan chuckled, “All right kid. Want me to set a wake up call?”

"Sure," though Desmond was barely paying attention and he should have been because Dylan was smirking and a Miles smirking (even perfect, nice guy, Dylan) was never a good thing.

"Okay, see you in the morning, kid," and he ruffled Desmond’s hair again. Desmond just batted at his brother’s hand with a whine and closed the door. He had about enough energy to decide which of the two beds he wanted to sleep in, take off his clothes, pull on some flannel bottoms, and crawl into bed. He was out a few seconds later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually ask for comments: but really, I like 'em and wouldn't mind some


	28. Chapter 28

Desmond was aware of something on his bed with him. He opened one eye tiredly, a bit jet lagged still. and was met by two grinning mocha colored faces. “Oh no,” he groaned into his pillow, turning away from them.

Dylan was a cruel, cruel, man.

"Daddy says it’s time to get up uncle Desmond!" one of them said cheerfully. Desmond should have know. He should have known that Dylan would do this. Nice guy Dylan was he liked playing tricks on people. Harmless ones, but tricks all the same.

"Nooo," Desmond complained.

The girls on his bed giggled and he heard someone from the door talking softly. He felt them get to their feet and started jumping and giggling. Any sleep Desmond was holding onto he lost and became very awake from two little girls jumping on his bed.

"All right all right!" Desmond cried, "I’m awake," and he sat up to prove it. Molly and Hailey giggled and stopped jumping. Then he was being tugged and that was kinda nice. Around the frizzy hair he could see Dylan standing in the doorway. He flipped his brother off since the girls couldn’t see. "You’re awful," he told Dylan.

"Get up lazy bones it’s nearly ten."

"I can’t with this all over me!" Desmond cried and wriggled his way out of the grip of two little girls.

"C’mon girls, let Desmond get dressed. Breakfast is still on by the way, and Duncan’s here."

"I’ll be down in a sec," Desmond said as the twins jumped off his bed and went over to Dylan who shepherded them out. "No more wake up calls!" he called after Dylan. Dylan just waved at him and left.

Desmond huffed and flopped back down on the bed. He grabbed his phone and saw it was nine thirty. He rubbed his eyes and laid there for a few more minutes before rolling out of bed. He pulled on a shirt and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Once he was presentable he went downstairs.

A good number of relatives were already there. And all the women were in the kitchen chatting like hens and the men were in the dining  room… also chatting like hens. Some kids were rolling around on the floor and there were a few babies being passed around and cooed over.

Desmond decided he wanted to go to the kitchen though. He was thirsty and could smell bacon, eggs, and pancakes and lots of other yummy things. There would be no shortage of delicious food while he was here. Desmond was looking forward to gaining about ten to fifteen pounds while on break because of how his family cooked. His aunts and adult cousins were in the kitchen chatting and he saw one of his little cousins sneaking some bacon off a paper towel. They saw Desmond saw them and froze. Desmond just put his finger to his lips and went to find something to drink.

"Desmond," his mom said, "you’re awake."

"Yeah," Desmond said, still kind of tired. "Dylan sent the twins to wake me up," he sighed.

"Oh really?" she grinned a little.

"Yeah. They woke me up by jumping on my bed," and she laughed a little as he opened the fridge and grabbed the milk. "When’s breakfast?"

"As soon as the pancakes are done," she said. He nodded and poured himself some milk and left the kitchen to get out of the way.

He hadn’t noticed them at first because he’d been tired, but now he did. They were sitting in the living room while two kids were playing on gameboys on the couch. Desmond went over to them. “I like the hair,” he told Duncan whose hair was literally the color of a cherry lollipop. Other than the hair Duncan had a similar face and build as him and Dylan and their dad, only unlike the rest of them could actually pull off facial hair. Which he was doing right now and had a short, trim, beard.

"Hey Des," Duncan said with a grin. Duncan had brought his partner with him and Desmond didn’t quite know what to call them at the moment. "Des, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is my little brother, Desmond," he introduced them. Jaimie had blue raspberry colored undercut, the top blue, the bottom blonde and contacts that made their eyes yellow. Two lip rings and a small gauge of plugs decorated their face and they had a tattoo on their neck of a unicorn.

"Hi," Desmond said without even blinking and shook Jamie’s hand. "What pronoun set do you like?" he asked since Jaimie didn’t look like a chick or a dude. Desmond had once mispronouned one of Duncan’s girlfriends and it had been like the world had ended. He’d been thirteen and they’d totally flipped out on him. Thankfully Duncan had broken up with them because he couldn’t deal with someone that touchy about a mistake from someone who didn’t actually know any better and hadn’t been told one way or another. So Desmond just always asked now when it came to Duncan’s partners.

"Girl," she said.

"Okay," and then Desmond turned to Duncan, "What the hell you do to your hair?" and he grabbed his brother’s hair and gave it a little tug. "Too cool for brown now?"

"Naaah," Duncan said and batted at Desmond’s hand, "Jamie said if we were going to see the family that we should match and brown and blue don’t really go together."

"I’m an art major," she supplied, and looking at her Desmond believed her.

"Does that mean she makes sure you don’t walk around with plaid shorts and plaid shirt?"

Duncan laughed, “No.”

"Damn. No offense Jamie, but you need to step up your game," he grinned.

"I do the best I can. He’s the toughest case I’ve ever had-

"Hey!" but Desmond and Jamie just laughed.

"Everyone," one of Desmond’s aunts called, "Breakfast is about to be served, go sit down," and Desmond took that as his cue to leave and went and sat at the big family table. Molly and Hailey sat on one side of him, grinning at him in a way he didn’t know if he was supposed to be afraid of or not, and on his other side was his cousin Nathan. Nathan was a good guy, not a Miles though since Denise had married a man named Jason Ford. Jason had died from lung cancer from being a chronic cigarette smoker, but Nathan and Denise were still around.

"Hey bud," Nathan said, Nathan was a good guy who lived in California most of the time and was about as liberal as his mother was conservative. Nathan and Denise didn’t get along very much, which was obvious since Denise was sitting down at the other end of the table with Mark. They were both staring at Jamie and Duncan with a look of horror and mild disgust. At least Duncan had a girlfriend this time. The last time a large portion of the family had gotten together he’d been dating a little blonde twink with frosted tips.

"Hey," Desmond grinned at him as the food started to be put down on the table. Several plates of bacon and sausage and pancakes and muffins and hash browns and more.

"Looks like you got some admirers," he grinned and looked over at the twins. Desmond turned and looked at Dylan’s daughters, they giggled and looked away.

"Oh joy," Desmond said, back at Nathan.

"How you doing in school?" he asked as the last few plates of food were brought out. It took a lot of food to feed everyone in the family and a lot of people to cook it all. Thankfully there was no shortage of hands to cook or put the food on the table.

"All right, I graduate this year."

"Yeah? Good for you," Nathan said.

"Alright everyone, you can eat now," nanny announced from one end of the table, pop-pop was at the other. The sound of plates moving and scraping against each other and things moving momentarily drowned out the sound of conversation. For a moment everyone was quiet as they got food on their plate, poured drinks from pitchers or pots and ate a few bites. Then the talking started again. A soft din accompanied with the scrape of forks and knives.

"How’s it feel back where it’s cold?" Nathan asked as they ate.

"I hate and love it," Desmond said, Nathan chuckled.

"Yeah that sounds about right," Nathan said with a grin.

"Uncle Desmond," Desmond turned away from Nathan to the twins who were practically sharing a seat. Asia, their mother, was sitting on their other side and keeping an eye on them.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Me and Molly woke you up," and clearly Hailey was pleased beyond belief about that.

"You sure did," Desmond said.

"Do we get to wake you up tomorrow too?"

"No," Desmond said.

"Awww, why not?" Molly asked.

"Cause Duncan and his girlfriend are going to be in the room too. And Duncan gets super cranky when he doesn’t get his beauty sleep. And with a face like that he needs it-

"I heard that!" Duncan called from across the table and three seats down.

Desmond leaned over to his nieces, “And he’s got super hearing. Mice walking around wake him up.”

"Really?" the twins looked at him with huge brown eyes. They were six and believed anything.

"Yeap."

"What if Duncan doesn’t get enough sleep?" one of them asked, he thought it was Molly.

"He’s a super cranky bear-

"A bear!" Hailey squeaked.

"Yeap. A bear," Desmond nodded, next to the girls Asia snorted and laughed into a glass of orange juice. The girls didn’t look away from Desmond. "So no coming into the room to wake us up even if your daddy says so okay? Or else."

"Or else bear Duncan will eat us?" Molly asked, sounding worried.

"Yes-

"Desmond. Are you lying to our nieces?" Duncan suddenly asked, leaning towards him and jabbing his fork in Desmond’s general direction. Most of the table ignored them and kept eating and talking. They were one conversation amount a dozen.

"Of course not, bro," Desmond said with a grin.

"Cause Asia was just saying you was."

"Where the fff-" nope, no bad words or he’d get glared at by every woman on the table, "heck did you learn to talk? Jamie, what the hell happened here? Last time I saw my brother he was… well not an upstanding guy but at least could talk okay. I assume that isn’t your fault but-

"Oh go blow it out your ass, Des," Duncan said and Jaimie smacked Duncan’s arm and gave him a look. Duncan rolled his eyes.

Desmond grinned and went back to his breakfast. They ate, they talked and finally breakfast was over. On one side of the of the table William’s oldest brother, David, stood up. Desmond liked David. “Okay guys, few announcements, the ladies made us breakfast, so all you men report for clean up duty. After Duncan said he had the snow mobiles worked on so they’re up for some use if you wanna use ‘em. Jessie and Frank are organizing the meals for the next few days and Christmas and are going to head into town and maybe Rapid City if the roads are good for a supply run. Help would be appreciated. Parents also surrender your kids to Dylan. He’s going to have them out in the barn taking care of the animal chores,” and all the adults seemed happy that the kids were going to be out of the way and doing some chores. “Almost everyone’s here and I got a call today that Tony and Allison aren’t coming since Thomas broke his leg.” It took Desmond a moment to remember who those people were. Then he remembered; Tony was David’s son. “And that’s it.

Then nearly as one the entire big table of Miles got up. The people who’d helped cook breakfast got out of the way, pop-pop was helped back into his favorite chair, the kids and Dylan put on their coats and scarves and hats and boots and left the house and out into the snowy outside.  A large group was in the kitchen to help clean everything since there were no leftovers. They’re eaten everything. Desmond took a picture of the chaos in the kitchen as a bunch of adult men all tried to take charge at once and it nearly dissolved into an argument. He sent the picture to his friends with the message ‘wish I wasn’t here’. Then he put on his game face and let a towel get thrust into his hand so he could start to clean pots.


	29. Chapter 29

Desmond was sitting on the floor with a bunch of his younger cousins in front of the Christmas tree. Desmond was one of the only teenagers in the family. Most of the others were either tweens or younger, or in their twenties. Only his cousin Anna was even close to his age at fifteen, but she and her parents were in Tokyo for Christmas. Probably better that way since a lot of the family disapproved of Anna's dad who was Japanese. They weren't a fan of interracial couples because most of them were bigoted assholes. For that reason most of them didn't like Asia on the principle that she was black.

So Desmond was the lone teenager but he was fine with that. He got along good with his little cousins and his older cousins so it wasn't a big deal.

Everyone was slowly making their way to the main house this morning, the kids no doubt waking up anyone they could. Desmond was tasked with keeping the little kids in order until everyone was awake and a the main house. So he had them playing duck duck goose. So they could run around without actually running all over the house, and help burn off all that extra energy.

In the kitchen some people were bustling around making some things like coffee and tea and Desmond heard them cutting fruit. The front door opened briefly, letting in a shock of cold air Desmond felt even in the livingroom and a few kids complained. Then the door was closed.

"Goose," Nicky tagged him.

Desmond lurched to his feet and Nicky gave a little yelp before taking off around the circle. Desmond let her do two laps before scooping her up. She shrieked as he picked her up and spun her before setting her back down, Nicky laughed the entire time. Desmond then went around the circle.

They played duck duck goose for a while more until the adults started calling each other and telling those who weren't here to get their lazy butts up it was Christmas and the kids were about to tear down the house for want of presents. Everyone eventually showed up and coffee and tea was poured and everyone sat in the livingroom.

David oversaw the presents. Everyone got one before anyone was allowed to open any. David lived full time at the Farm with nanny and pop-pop and made sure nothing happened to them. He basically ran this reunion and made sure there wasn't any fighting. It was impressive since no one had said one rude thing to Asia or given Jamie a snide comment.

Desmond had a feeling it had more to do with the fact that nanny and pop-pop were old and dirt and probably going to die soon than that they'd had a change of heart. No one wanted to be left out of the inheritance. Nanny and pop-pop were surprisingly liberal for old people who lived in South Dakota. Probably because nanny was part Lakota, and so unlike a good portion of the Miles family didn't have a problem with 'colored folks' or interracial marriages. As it was Chloe got a pass because she looked white though she was hispanic and as mixed as could be.

His family was so stupid.

A box with striped wrapping paper was dropped into Desmond's lap. He looked at who it was from. Nanny and pop-pop. It was fairly big, a bit bigger than his lap, but rather thin. When he shook it a little it didn't make any noise. He had no idea what it was.

"Okay, you can open them," David said, though that was mainly for the kids who looked ready to rip off the skin on their faces if they didn't get to rip open the presents. Happy cries from the kids quickly filled the air. Desmond worked on unwrapping his present and his mouth fell open.

"Woah," he said. He had an iPad sitting in his lap. He looked at his grandparents. For being super old both of them were active and with it and modern and even on Facebook (which was more than Desmond could say). Pop-pop winked at him and Desmond's smile grew huge. His grandparents were fucking awesome.

"Who's that from Desmond?" he looked over his shoulder at his mom sitting in a chair behind him.

"Nanny and pop-pop," Desmond said and started to open it. He wanted to go charge it. He heard his mom say something to his dad but wasn't really paying attention. He opened the box and pulled out the sleek iPad and found the charger and scrambled to his feet to find an outlet. he found one by the stairs that led upstairs and plugged it in before going back to the living room.

When he sat down someone handed him two envelopes. He opened the first one and it was a hundred dollars in cash. The other was a visa gift card for a hundred and fifty bucks. In ten seconds he'd earned two hundred and fifty dollars and he knew that was just the start. Buying for kids was easy, they wanted toys. Buying for teenagers or twenty somethings was not. Desmond foresaw getting a lot of money for Christmas this year.

Desmond opened several more envelopes, they all had some sort of money in it. Cash, checks, iTunes gift cards, Amazon gift cards. He racked up about seven hundred bucks pretty quick in various quantities of money in cards or cash or checks. He was pretty stoked about that honestly. Duncan seemed equally thrilled to get a thousand bucks from nanny and pop-pop along with the other money from aunts and uncles and cousins. Desmond was in the same boat as his relatives though. He had money from his job and he'd given the family members he liked (and were young enough to not laugh at him) money. It was easy and it let them get whatever the hell they wanted.

Then another box was put on his lap. This was from his parents. It was long but thin and kinda wide. He laughed when he opened it. "Macbook to go with my iPad?" he asked and turned around to them.

"We had no idea they were getting you that," William huffed.

"It's for school," Chloe added.

"Suuure," he grinned at them.

"You get it now instead of as a graduation present," William said.

"Do you like it?"

Desmond got up and kissed his mom on the cheek and gave his dad a one armed hug, "Love it," he said.

The rest of Desmond's gifts were clothes. Sweaters and gloves he'd never wear after this trip because he lived in Florida. He got some nice stuff though and got a last check of five hundred bucks from David. Desmond had literally made out like a bandit this year. Across all his relatives he'd gotten close to fifteen hundred dollars in money and gift cards. And an iPad, and a Macbook.

Once all the presents had been opened half the family went about throwing all the wrapping paper and boxes away while the other half went to make lunch, since the entire ordeal had lasted longer than expected. Desmond helped with the pick up and threw everything into a garbage can that had been brought into the living room to handle the sheer volume of plastic, cardboard, and gift wrap. When it was all done the kids were left to play with their new toys. Including Desmond.

He went and plugged his new laptop in his room before grabbing his iPad and finding an outlet closer to a comfortable char.

"You like it?" he looked and saw he'd sat right next to pop-pop.

"It's awesome pop-pop," Desmond said and reached over to give him a big hug.

"Good!' pop-pop said, "David said you'd like it."

"David knows where it's at," Desmond said and turned the iPad up. The first thing he did was create a security lock for it so no one could get on it or waste battery.

"I got one too," Duncan called across the living room, squeezed into an armchair with Jamie. "They're the big ones. Nanny and pop-pop did us good this year," Duncan beamed.

"Keep yours away from mine. No doubt it'll be full of weird pictures and viruses in no time," Desmond said and hugged his iPad closer to him. Duncan flipped him off and Jamie punched him in the arm for that and gave him a look that could kill a small animal. Desmond liked Jamie. She kept Duncan in line and controlled that bad mouth of his. Desmond spent the rest of the day on his iPad, stopping only to eat. Probably better that way since it was starting to snow pretty hard outside.


	30. Chapter 30

It snowed New Years. Desmond was sitting and watching it snow in the dark. The New York New Years celebration was going on and while everyone wanted fireworks no one wanted to go out in the cold to do it. Not to mention a lot of the kids were asleep and it wouldn't do good to wake them. A bunch of the relatives had left by now. Most of the bigots were gone, since they were all in the other houses. Dylan was gone too. Desmond and his parents were staying a few more days.

Desmond had his iPad in his lap and when he wasn't watching the snow fall he was looking at it and playing on it. Since Christmas he'd downloaded at least two dozen apps, a few he even paid for. Next to him his phone buzzed. He didn't look at it. He didn't want to deal with Clay whining at him about being bored or lonely anymore. He was quite over it.

The clock continued to count down and it was pretty close to midnight. His phone buzzed a few more times. "You avoiding someone or somethin'?" Duncan asked, in the couch, Jamie's head on his lap, dozing.

"Huh?" Desmond looked up.

"Your phone," Duncan rose his brows.

"It's probably just Clay being annoying and whining," Desmond said but picked up the phone to look at it. Yeah a few messages were from Clay, mostly older ones that were all some variation of 'I'm bored' or 'I miss Lucy'. There were some from Becca too but those were days old. The new ones though were from Altair.

"Not Clay?" Duncan asked, meaning it must have showed on Desmond's face.

"Ah... no," he admitted and glanced around. No one was paying attention to them, their were watching the ball or were chatting, a few people were sleeping already. Half an hour till the ball dropped. "It's uh... a guy," and why the hell did he blush so much just even admitting Altair had texted him?

"Yeah?" Duncan asked, perking up a bit. "Boyfriend material?"

"I... don't know," Desmond admitted and rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the messages. One of them was a little older than the others. 'You busy?' 'I'm in old town to watch the conch drop if you wanna hang' which was weird since he and Altair didn't just hang out.

"Why not?" Duncan asked and Desmond tore his eyes away from the last two texts.

"Well-

"Not gay?"

"No no. He's definitely gay," Desmond said, "it's just... it's complicated I guess."

"Des, that's a facebook status, not an actual condition," Duncan said with a little grin. "C'mon, tell me. Honestly out of anyone here I'm the best bet to help with boy troubles," and though she was dozing Jamie punched Duncan's leg. "He got a boyfriend?"

"No."

"So what's the problem?"

"He's not exactly available," Desmond frowned.

"You just said he doesn't have a boyfriend."

"He doesn't have an anything. He doesn't date or have relationships. He just has one-night stands."

"Are you seeing him?"

"... sort of?" Desmond said awkwardly. He got up and went to sit next to Duncan. Duncan wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

"What's sort of?"

"We kinda... have a thing going on."

"Like a fuck buddy?"

"Sort of but we're not friends. More like," Desmond rubbed his face, "he texts me and I go over to his house."

Duncan rose his brows at him, "My little brother is a booty call?" and Desmond smacked his hand over Duncan's mouth.

"Don't say it out loud mom and dad are _literally right there_ ," he looked at their parents who were talking with nanny and one of Desmond's cousins on the other side of the living room.

"Okay okay, relax," Duncan pulled down Desmond's hand. "So it's complicated and this guy...?"

"Yeah?"

"What's he like?"

Desmond went to his phone gallery, he had a picture or two of Altair because yeah, sometimes they were in the same area and he ended up being in the shot. Or the entire shot. "That's him," Desmond pointed to him at the last volleyball day. Desmond had taken a picture of the wining team, Altair had been on it. He was smiling and hot and shirtless. He went two other to a picture from before that had been taken to Altair picking himself off the sand after diving for the ball. "His name is Altair-

"He's gorgeous," Duncan said and that got Jamie awake to peer over his shoulder.

"Wow," she agreed.

"Why is this a problem?" Duncan asked Desmond.

"He's way out of my league," Desmond said.

"Yeah? How? You ain't bad looking yourself Des."

"He's first string on the football team. He's literally one the hottest, if not the hottest guy in the senior class, he's rich, he's super popular, and his GPA is higher than _mine_ ," Desmond said.

"I still don't see the problem," Duncan said, " He sounds like Mr. Perfect to me. Hot and got all those things going for him."

"He's completely unavailable and a bit of an asshole."

"Well he's single," Duncan said, he was flipping through some of Desmond's photos. He had nothing bad on his phone so he wasn't worried about Duncan finding anything on there.

"Yeah and he has the emotional range of a grain of sand," Desmond said. "I tutor him in chemistry and go to volleyball with him. He's either super competitive, annoyed with life, annoyed with me, or making fun of someone."

"So he's a dumb jock basically," Duncan said.

"Basically! And I want a boyfriend. But just-" he huffed.

"He's emotionally unavailable even if you did ask him out. Not that he'd ever say yes," Duncan paraphrased.

"Now you see the issue."

"Were those texts from him?" Desmond nodded, "About?"

"Probably wanted to know if I would sleep with him tonight," Desmond said.

"Huh," Duncan frowned a little, "Well, that is a pickle bro. You like this guy?"

"I do, for some reason that is beyond me."

"Don't worry sweetie, I feel the same way about your brother," Jamie piped in and made Desmond laugh a little.

"Hey," Duncan whined.

"I don't know what to do," Desmond said. "I mean... I like this guy and I kinda like the things we do but-

"You wish it was more?" Duncan asked. Desmond nodded. "Hmmm. What do you think Jamie?"

"Do what you need to," Jamie said. "If you think you're okay with being as you are, then do it. If not, then drop him. He's nothing. Just a guy in highschool. I thought I was in love in high school and trust me; most of those boys are just jerks and not worth your time. If nothing else you have five months until you graduate. Where you going to college?"

"Top pick is Miami, then Gainesville and Orlando," Desmond said. He'd been working on his applications for all those schools for weeks along with his homework.

"Well all those places will have more guys to pick from," Jamie said. "And if you want, fuck this Altair until you find someone better. Cause trust me, if you're anything like your brother you won't have trouble finding someone who can give you what you want."

"Awww, thanks babe," and Duncan kissed Jamie sweetly.

"So I shouldn't worry about it?" Desmond asked.

"Nope. If you and Altair work out, go for it. If not drop him like a bad habit. You two aren't anything or exclusive," Duncan said. "And if you have to fuck him a few times to realize he isn't what you want, that's cool. If you are with a bunch of guys before finding the one who's good for you that's okay too. You don't have to settle Des."

Desmond smiled a little, "You're right," he said. Sometimes he felt like that though. He saw his friends all together and happy with their girlfriends and just wanted that. It was harder for him though since the dating pool was small to nonexistent. He didn't have to settle for the first guy who paid him any attention. "Thanks," he said.

"No sweat," Duncan said.

Desmond took his phone back and brought up his texting app. He didn't even look at what the other texts were. He just texted, 'I'm in South Dakota till the end of break. Can't' and didn't look when Altair texted him back because the ball was about to drop. He left his phone on the couch as he, Duncan, and Jamie went to go watch the ball drop.


	31. Chapter 31

Duncan left the same day they did. Desmond liked being able to say goodbye to his brother at the airport and Jamie hugged him. The plane ride home was long and walking off the half sized jet onto the tarmac to get to the terminal was like getting hit by a dead fish that had been left in the sun a little while. Warm, damp, left a weird residue on your skin and smelled like low tide. It was January and Florida wasn’t aware it was the middle of winter and was somewhere around the low eighties or high seventies.

Desmond was happy to be home, though it was late. He had school in about three days and he needed to get over his jet lag.

He was lying in bed when Clay texted him. ‘You home?’

'Yeh.'

'Excellent. Sleep up, beach fun times tomorrow.'

'no'

'aww c'mon Des, live a little.'

'I just flew across like twenty states I get a day off. I'll see you on Saturday,' and then he wiggled out of his clothes, crawled under his sheet and played some dumb iPad app until he fell asleep. He had dreams about flying and looking out across the ocean from the deck of a boat.


	32. Chapter 32

The first day back to school was about as much a mess as you could expect. The entire school district was stupid in that they had midterms after winter break. It was stupid and left most of the kids scrambling to remember everything they’d forgotten over break. Desmond knew from the dumb questions his classmates asked that most of them probably didn’t know their asses from their elbows and watching them the first day back when teachers started cramming old material down their throats was sad and funny; but mostly sad.

Key West was a school who was always getting new students after winter break. Snow birds came down from the north and spent the winter and spring down here and then during summer and fall went back up north. The regular, seasonal, students showed up in classes again. But Desmond recognized a not so regular student in one of his morning classes.

"You know who that is?" Desmond asked Clay in the one class they had together, which was an elective. He nodded at the new kid. The other seasonal kids Desmond knew. But not this guy. He was sort of built like a tank and had probably the most awful haircut Desmond had ever seen.

"Never seen him before," Clay said and Desmond saw Clay mentally running through his mental list of every seasonal kid. "I think he might actually be new."

The bell rang and Clay went and sat in his seat instead of practically hanging off Desmond’s desk. The gym teacher, who was teaching their health class this semester (because sterotypes were a thing for a reason), cleared his throat and started to call roll.

"Clay Kaczmarek," he called once he got to the Ks.

"Here," Clay called.

The teacher then squinted at the roll roster. “Kenway?” he asked.

"Uh, here," the new kid said.

"How do you pronounce your name? There’s a colon in there I’m not quite sure-

Desmond didn’t have to see his face to know the new kid was blushing, a bit uncomfortable by whatever his name was. Though really, a colon? Wasn’t it bad enough people were using apostrophes? “Connor’s fine, sir,” he said.

"All right, Connor," and the teacher made a note on his sheet.

Clay looked over at Desmond, Desmond looked back and he shook his head because Clay had a full on cheshire grin going including curled cheeks. Desmond didn’t know who Connor was, but he sort of felt bad for him. Health class was boring and consisted of nothing but reading. Tomorrow they’d be in the gym again but really gym didn’t really have a mid term other than running a mile.

The bell rang and Clay lurched out of his seat and straight for Connor. Desmond groaned and followed just so Clay didn’t eat the new kid.

"Hey," Clay said as Connor was putting his notebook into his backpack, standing next to Connor’s desk.

"Hi…" Connor said slowly.

"I’m Clay," Clay said, "this is Desmond. You new to Key West?"

"Yeah," Connor said, still sounding unsure. "We moved here two weeks ago."

"Yeah? That’s cool. What’s your next class?"

"English. I don’t really know where it is though," Connor was seeing Clay talking to him as an olive branch. And it was. But the olive branch might have barbs in it. Not the bad kind. More like hitchhikers. Clay was making a new friend and this kid looked way out of his depth. Desmond thought watching Clay make new friends was like watching a snake eat. It sounded bad, but really it wasn’t. Not really…

"Who’s your teacher?" and Connor showed Clay his schedule. "Oh I know where that is. Me and Des can show you. Right Des?"

"Yeah," Desmond nodded.

"Okay," Connor said and got out of his chair. They headed out of the classroom and the pod and out into the open hallway. "Is it always this hot here?" Connor asked.

"No," Clay said.

"It’s usually hotter," Desmond elaborated as they walked across the courtyard to the other building. "You probably won’t get used to it."

"You a junior?" Clay asked.

Connor shook his head, “Sophomore.”

"Well don’t feel too bad, genius here’s a fucking senior," and Clay clapped Desmond on the back, "and he’s not even seventeen."

"Really?" Connor’s eyes got big as he looked a Desmond.

"I’m not a genius. But yeah, I’m a senior. I’ve had a much better education than this state when I moved here, so they bumped me up a year," Desmond shrugged as they started up the stairs though Desmond’s class was on the ground floor.

"Where you from Connor?’ Clay asked.

"Massachusetts," Connor said, "originally. We just moved from Kitsap."

"Kitsap, where’s that?" Clay asked.

"Washington," Desmond said.

"You know where it is?" Connor asked, surprised.

"We were going to move there when it was still Bremerton," Desmond said, "My dad’s navy too."

"Really?"

Desmond nodded, “We live on Boca Chica-

"So do we," Connor got momentarily excited that he now knew someone who lived near him.

"Here’s your class," Clay piped in.

"I need to jet, you know how Mr. Finney is about being late," Desmond said. "See you at lunch Connor," cause he had no doubt Clay would get him to come to lunch. Then he took off and practically ran down the stairs to the far end of the building near the football field.

Desmond did his classes but was looking forward to lunch, if only to see his friends. During the lead up to lunch he forgot the ne kid’s name though he didn’t doubt he’d be there when Desmond went there. He got in the lunch line quickly and didn’t have to wait long, though Clay was nowhere in sight. On his way to the concrete bench Desmond saw he was right, new guy was there.

"Des, Des," Clay called as he got closer, Desmond thought Clay might need some adderall, he was way too excited. "Come hear Connor’s name."

"Isn’t Connor his name?" Desmond asked, confused and sat on the bench next to Clay, only Shaun was there yet.

"English name," Clay said.

Desmond cocked his head to the side, “You have two names?” Desmond asked.

"Sort of…" Connor said. "My legal name is-" and that was way too many syllables and consonants together for Desmond’s American brain to handle. "But I’m just Connor usually, except at home."

"Say that again I didn’t catch that," Desmond said and wiggled his finger in his ear to clear it out. Connor did. "Rah-ton-a-gu-doon?" Desmond asked.

At least Connor had some humor about it and grinned a little with a sigh. “Ratonhnhaké:ton, there’s a colon in it, and an accent on the E,” he said.

"There’s an E in there?" Desmond demanded but not in a mean way. "Man Connor- Connor is okay right?"

"Connor is fine."

"Okay good. Though I do wanna be able to say your real name. It’s a mouthful and a half though!"

"What is?" Lucy asked, she and Rebecca showing up with lunch, "And who’s this?"

"This is Connor, new kid," Clay said proudly.

"Hello Connor. I’m Lucy, this is Rebecca," Rebecca waved. She sat down, "Where you from?"

"Washington," he said.

"So Florida’s pretty rough?"

"I honestly don’t know how you people do it. It’s really hot here," he said and everyone laughed.

"Best person to ask is Shaun," Becca said and looped her arm over Shaun’s shoulder, "He’s from Britain and can’t be out in the run or else he turns into a lobster."

Connor looked at Shaun who looked as done as ever with all of them, “You don’t look like you have any claws,” Connor said.

"Thank you Connor," Shaun said and gave Rebecca a look. She just grinned and kissed his cheek.

"So," Clay clapped, "we’re going to the beach after school. Wanna come?" he asked Connor.

"We are?" Desmond asked.

"When did you decide that?" Lucy also asked.

"Just now," Clay said with a broad grin.

"You’re going to go swimming in January?" Connor asked.

"Oh yeah," Clay nodded. "Water shouldn’t be too chilly. Who’s game?"

"I can go," Desmond said.

"I’ll try," Lucy said, "My dad wants me to focus on studying for midterms."

"Shaun, Bec, stop making out for five seconds. You wanna do the beach after school?" because Shaun and Rebecca were indeed kissing. Desmond had never seen more gross amounts of PDA except when they were dating.

"Can’t," Rebecca called.

"I just want to go home," Shaun said.

"Okay, whatever, losers," Clay said and turned to Connor. "And you?"

"Uh… I don’t thin-

"Of course he is," everyone looked when a new voice said something. Desmond blinked in surprise. He’d never seen this girl before. All he knew was that she was hot and black and wore a fluffy dress. She was… really cute actually, aesthetically at least. Desmond could appreciate how much work she obviously put into appearing adorable.

"Ava," Connor said, suddenly nervous, "You know dad said-

"Dad can shove it," the girl said. "Hello, I’m Aveline. Connor’s older sister," she smiled.

Desmond and Clay looked between Connor and Aveline, then back for Connor, “Dude, your sister is hot,” and Lucy jammed her elbow into Clay’s ribs for that.

"I’m sorry about him. I swear he’s paper trained," Lucy said. Aveline laughed.

"It’s okay. I’ve dealt with worse. What was that about going to the beach?"

"Ava, dad said to just come home after school," Connor said, puffing his cheeks out a little irritably.

"That’s cool, I have to too," Desmond said, "I need to get my swim shorts. Also I might have tutoring. Beach isn’t till like an hour after school."

"Oh…" Connor said.

"We’d be happy to come," Aveline said brightly.

"Sweet!" Clay grinned widely. Clay looked at Desmond, "Tutoring?"

"I can cut it short for the beach," Desmond promised.

"Good," Clay said.

—

Desmond tapped the butt of his pencil on the table waiting for Altair impatiently. Finally he just got fed up and texted him ‘where are you?’ ‘answer your phone dingus’ he texted back when Altair took a bit too long to reply.

'I know you're eager to see me Desmond-' Desmond rolled his eyes at that, as if, 'I'll be right there, making an arrangement with a friend.'

'Well hurry up I can't stay an entire hour today.'

Desmond went back to pencil tapping. Altair finally showed up and sat across from him. “What’s got ants in your pants?” Altair asked, raising a brow and Desmond took a moment.

Over the break somehow he’d forgotten how Hot Altair really was. And yes Hot with a capital H. He hadn’t been paying attention to him in chem and now there was no one else there but the two of them and Desmond couldn’t help but be aware and be reminded why he had such a horrific crush on Altair. “I got plans,” Desmond said, “what took you?”

"I told you. I was making plans with a friend. So?"

"Flash cards and a few problems from the back of the book since there is no homework," Desmond said and pulled the flash cards out. Altair struggled with them, or seemed to. Altair seemed to trying but he got a bunch wrong. They went through them twice. "What’s up with you? You had most of them when we left."

"I didn’t remember them over the break," Altair shrugged.

"Fair enough," Desmond flipped open the chemistry book. "I need to leave at quarter till."

"Where are you going?"

"The beach," though it wasn’t any business of Altair’s.

"Huh," Altair said but nothing else, "Which ones do you want me to do?"

Desmond looked over the problems and circled the ones with a pencil. He guided Altair through some of the harder ones he appeared to his struggling on, Desmond redrawing some diagrams. At one point he took the pencil right out of Altair’s hand and was so startled by it he actually stopped for a moment. When Altair gave him a look he mentally shook himself. Focus Desmond. Don’t be a dude bro.

"Well that’s all of them," Altair said. "Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sorry, I have club," Desmond said and put his stuff into his backpack. "Wednesday," he promised, "I’ll see you tomorrow," and then he was out of the library. He put the books he didn’t need into his locker and went out to his bike. He went home, said hi to his mom and grabbed his swim trunks. He shoved an extra change of clothes and a towel into his backpack and kissing his mom on the cheek said he was going to the beach and if he wasn’t home for dinner he’d call.

He arrived at Smathers a bit after they agreed to get there. Clay was there and so was Lucy. “Finally!” Clay called and got up from the circle they were all sitting in.

"Hey I’m here don’t complain," and then he spotted Connor and Aveline and two other guys who had their backs to him. "Who’re they?" he asked, nodding at them.

Clay grabbed Desmond about the shoulders, “You’re not going to believe who Aveline made friends with,” Clay smirked.

"Should I be afraid?" Desmond asked with trepidation.

"Come see," Clay said and pulled Desmond over. "Here he is," Clay said, grinning. Desmond stared. Sitting next to Aveline was the last person Desmond expected. He didn’t even know how Aveline did it. She’d made friends with him apparently. He was annoyed, jealous, and irritated all at once as well as mildly happy to see him since Desmond always appreciated seeing him shirtless. Aveline has two hot guys sitting next to her, one was Malik, who was interested in flirting with her, and the other was Altair who was looking up at Desmond like a shark looked at food.

Oh great.


	33. Chapter 33

The water in January in Florida was nippy. Desmond didn’t mind though, neither did Aveline or Connor. Being raised in the north did that to you. Though Desmond still thought it was cold. He sucked it up though and was quickly used to it. Connor and Aveline didn’t even notice. They thought it was pretty warm. Which of course they would they’d just come from Washington.

Aveline was like something out of a fifties magazine. For a gay man Desmond thought she was smoking hot. Malik apparently did too. Desmond dragged Clay over as they sat in the shallows of the water, “Isn’t Malik gay?” he asked Clay lowly.

"Uh… I think," Clay said.

"Then what the hell it up with him and Ava?" Desmond asked, watching. It was so weird.

"Maybe he’s bisexual," Clay shrugged.

Desmond gave him a look, “You don’t know? Are you admitting that? Can I get it in writing?”

Clay splashed him, “Sexuality’s weird okay. I don’t pretend to understand how it works half the time. I just see people who go together. I mean I’m dating a cute as hell girl but I like dudes too,” he shrugged.

"I guess," Desmond agreed. "She’s really pretty," he said thoughtfully.

"She’s a senior too," Clay said.

"Really? She isn’t in any of my classes."

"Well she’s in Altair’s and Malik’s. Which is why they’re here."

"I still can’t believe Altair is here. As if it wasn’t bad enough that I have to see him at tutoring," Desmond sighed and leaned back, the tiny waves rolled against his back and shoulders. "He was late for tutoring because he was making plans with Aveline to come here, uhg," he was just annoyed.

Clay laughed. “What are you two doing over there?” Lucy called, she and Connor were sitting on the shore, toes in the sand.

"Guy talk, babe!" Clay called and waved at her. Lucy turned to Connor and said something but they couldn’t hear. "So Altair’s here. Next plan?" Clay asked Desmond.

"Try not to embarrass myself," Desmond sighed.

"You still doing that fuck buddy thing?" Clay asked him. Desmond shoved him and Clay flailed in the water. He sputtered and spit salt water. "I take that as a yes," Clay said as Lucy got up from the shore and waded slowly over to them, looking in pain from the cool water. "Hey beautiful," Clay beamed at Lucy. Desmond had to admit, he’d become a lot less bumbling about dating Lucy over the past weeks. Which was good. Desmond wasn’t used to Clay not having a quick and silver tongue.

"You two are over here by yourselves because?" she asked, standing above them.

"Gossiping, as Clay’s usual habit," Desmond said cheekily.

"You’re a better listener than me Desmond. I usually tell him to shut up before he can get too far along," Lucy said and Desmond laughed. Clay pouted at her. "You talk so much, Clay," she said and pet his hair.

"You get used to it," Desmond said, "or you just learn to tune him out-

"Hey!" Clay cried and Desmond laughed again.

"So we were thinking about going to Higgs," Lucy said, still running her fingers through Clay’s wet hair, "and showing Connor and Aveline West Martello Tower."

"That sounds awesome," Desmond said, it had been forever since he’d been to West Martello Tower. "We gonna do dinner?"

"Yet to be determined. C’mon, lets get dried off a bit," and she pulled Clay to his feet. Desmond clambered to his own feet and followed Clay and Lucy back to the beach where Connor was. Aveline and the older boys were on the dry sand, talking, all three of them laid out like gekos. "Hey guys," she called to make them look. "We’re going to go somewhere."

Aveline got up immediately and came over to them. “Where we going?” she asked.

"West Martello Tower," Lucy said and Aveline looked a bit confused.

"Oh nice," Malik said, "I’ve never been. Great excuse."

"I assume everyone has a way to get there?" Lucy asked.

"I just don’t know how to get there," Aveline said.

"You can follow Clay’s car," Lucy said and tapped Clay’s stomach sort of hard. Clay grunted and rubbed his belly.

"It is literally around the corner though," Altair said, "Pretty much impossible to get lost."

"She’d find a way," Connor sighed and Desmond snorted, Aveline gave her half brother (fun fact he’d learned while hanging out with them) a look and Connor looked down but seemed pleased anyway.

"Meet at West Martello then?" Lucy asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Altair said.

—

Desmond turned off his bike. West Martello Tower was an old naval fort built in the mid nineteenth century to protect Florida’s interests. It was a historic building now though and housed the Key West Garden Club. It’s sister fort up the street by the airport, East Martello Tower, was a museum of Key West history. Desmond had been to both of them more than once just out of boredom sometimes. West Martello Tower was right on Higgs beach and from the outside looked like a run down building. All the masonry was old and brick and was one of the few stone structures in the entire city.

He tucked his helmet under his arm and walked to the entrance of the Garden Club. Altair and Malik were already there, talking in Arabic and ignoring him. Desmond just sighed and resigned himself to being ignored. They were talking very intently and at one point Altair smacked Malik’s upper arm in a ‘you idiot’ sort of way. Desmond had no idea what they were saying though.

It didn’t take much longer for the others to arrive. Connor had his hair back now since it was wet and it actually helped. Poor Connor had a horrendous haircut, like he cut it himself, and he hacked it off a bit before it touched her shoulders. It also got all over his face. With his hair up Desmond saw that… he didn’t look too bad. In fact he was sort of cute.

"So what exactly is this place?" Aveline asked.

"It’s a garden," Lucy said, "in an old fort."

"Cool," she said. Entry into West Martello Tower was free. Which was a good reason to go there when you were bored. "Oh wow," Aveline said.

"Woah," Connor agreed.

The Tower was an Eden. Even in January the foliage was lush and thick, the greens vibrant and there were some flowers even blooming. South Florida didn’t abide by the normal rules of ‘spring’. Some flowers only bloomed during the ‘winter’ and others went through a leaf fall during spring. Florida flora was weird.

They wandered the old fort, following the stone path through the garden. The fort was literally ruins and in some places the trees and foliage had just naturally grown over the stone walls. Eventually though some of them moved faster than others and they got seperated. The fort wasn’t that big though so it wasn’t like you could get lost.

Desmond enjoyed being alone here and wandered around. At one point he ducked down to walk through a remaining arch where a huge tree had grown over, the tree’s roots hanging down from its branches. The other end was blocked though and he started when he saw it was Altair. He swallowed as Altair ducked down and entered the little area. Desmond tried to make a quick getaway.

Altair snagged his wrist, “Hey,” he said, stopping Desmond. He looked at Altair and felt uneasy. At least Altair didn’t look like he was going to eat him now. “You don’t have to act like I’m going to do something to you just because we’re meeting outside of school,” and outside Altair’s bed too. Desmond didn’t say that though,

Instead he said something much stupider. “You aren’t?” and why did he phrase that like a challenge.

Desmond found himself crammed against the wall of the very short arch. “I can,” Altair said lowly, right on top of him. Desmond was suddenly having a very difficult time breathing. He swallowed and Altair’s hands were on his hips. Oh good god what had he gotten himself into? He looked at Altair and couldn’t help that he looked at his mouth. Altair leaned forward to kiss him-

"Desmond!" Lucy called and Altair pulled back abruptly and left without saying anything. "Desmond where are you we’re leaving," Lucy called again. Desmond sagged against the old wall. His heart was racing. Holy shit that had really just happened, or almost happened. Holy shit. "Desmond?"

"I’m coming!" Desmond yelled back and pressed the back of his hand against his mouth. Altair hadn’t kissed him, but it had been really close. He sighed and pressed the back of his head against the old brick and tipped it upwards to stare at the old masonry. He kinda wished Altair had too.

"Des, c’mon," Clay called now.

"Coming!" and he shrugged off the wall and headed for the exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos are good  
> comments are better o/


	34. Chapter 34

After getting slightly lost Desmond arrived at the house he’d been looking for. He didn’t have a lot of friends on base. Well… none actually, until Connor at least. He didn’t consider Aveline his ‘friend’ exactly since she only hung around them occasionally and to make sure her brother wasn’t being a recluse. She hung out with Altair and Ezio’s crowd and according to Connor Ezio was trying to get into his sister’s pants. Up till that point he’d never seen Connor mad. He didn’t like the idea of his sister dating some creep (lets be honest here) like Ezio. Aveline ignored Ezio though, uninterested. Which really; good for her since Ezio had fucked probably every girl in the senior class.

Desmond knocked on the front door and waited. It was answered not by either of the siblings, but by an older man, their father he guessed. He looked like Connor, it was amazing. Or rather Connor looked like him Desmond supposed, except he was white and Connor was Native American, from his mom apparently. The man looked him up and down, “Yes?” he asked when Desmond wasn’t forthcoming with information.

"Oh— Hi Mr. Kenway. I’m Desmond Miles, a friend of your son’s," Desmond said pleasantly. "Is Connor here?" Connor didn’t have a cell phone and the land line had been busy the two times Desmond had called.

"Yes," Mr. Kenway said and opened the door for him, "Come in. Are you Bill’s kid?" he asked curiously, eyeing Desmond.

"Yeah," Desmond nodded and stepped into the house. There were still some boxes lying around, the family too lazy or tired to unpack them all. Desmond knew how that was, he still had a box in his closet he’d never fully unpacked and just slowly took things out of it as he needed them.

"Connor," Mr. Kenway called, "One of your friends is here," and he closed the door.

A moment later Connor came out of his room and was surprised when he saw Desmond, “Des? What are you doing here?”

"I tried to call, your phone was busy. So I just asked my dad if he knew the Kenways and where they lived. Wasn’t that hard to find," Desmond grinned.

"Oh, my mom’s on the phone with my grandma," Connor said, "they talk a lot," he made a face. "What’s up?"

"You wanna come over for club?" Desmond asked.

"Club?" Connor asked then it clicked, "You mean that thing you and the others were talking about?"

"Yeah," Desmond nodded.

"Sure… I mean," Connor looked at his dad, who was standing nearby but not over them while they talked, "Can I?"

"What is it?" Mr. Kenway asked.

"My friends come over and we play Dungeons and Dragons," Desmond said with a straight face. He saw Mr. Kenway’s lips twitch in amusement.

"I think that’d be fine. You need to be back before your curfew though Connor."

"I will be," Connor promised as the back door opened. Aveline came in, she was wearing a bikini now and looked like she’d just been out getting some sun the backyard.

"Hey Desmond," she waved.

"Hey Ava," Desmond called back, she came over to them, taking off her sunglasses.

"What’re you doing here?"

"Inviting Connor over in person cause the phone is tied up," Desmond said.

Aveline looked at Connor, “He wants me to come over and play D&D-

"No way!" Aveline cried, "Can I come? Please?" she asked Desmond. "Some of my friends back in Washington played but I could never go cause ‘I was a girl’," and she made a disgusted face at that.

"Sure," Desmond said.

"Give me like five minutes to get dressed," and she vanished down the hall and into her room.

"How long does this usually last?" Mr. Kenway asked.

"We usually end it at ten. Shaun has a long drive home and he has to be home by eleven on school nights."

"Are your parents home?" he asked.

"No," but then Desmond got what Mr. Kenway was getting at, "Two of my other friends are girls though, and they’re both dating the two guys that come over, and I don’t even like girls. We won’t be weird with Aveline," he promised. He’d never actually run into an overprotective dad for a girl before. It was intimidating. It was intimidating and he wasn’t even interested in girls.

"Daaad," Connor groaned, embarrassed, "They’re nice," he made a face at Mr. Kenway.

"I’m allowed to be concerned about my children," Mr. Kenway told Connor, who just rolled his eyes.

"Now what are you doing, Haytham?" behind Mr. Kenway a woman appeared, holding a cordless phone. Connor looked like her too, Aveline had some of her features as well. Clearly she was their mom.

"I’m not doing anything, dear," Mr. Kenway said, "Why must always be doing something?"

"Because you always are," she said fondly and patted his cheek. "Who are you?"

"Mom, this is my friend, Desmond," Connor said, "Des, this is my mom-" and her name had too many vowels and consonants together for Desmond to make heads or tails of.

"Ziio is fine," she shook Desmond’s hand.

"Oh good," Desmond said, "I can’t even say Connor’s real name right, and he’s been trying to teach me."

Ziio laughed a little, “Try it now,” Desmond did, “You’re close,” and she gave her son a smile. “And you,” she looked at Mr. Kenway, “Come with me,” and she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him away.

"Your mom’s cool," Desmond said.

"Yeah she is," Connor agreed.

Aveline came out of her room then. She was ‘dressed down’, with a minimum number of cute accessories, her hair pulled back into a simple pony tail. “Okay, ready to go,” she said with a smile.

"Alright, I don’t know if you wanna drive to my place or not? It isn’t that far."

"We’ll walk," Aveline said, "Where’s dad?" she looked around in some confusion.

"Mom dragged him away," Connor made a face as Desmond opened the door.

"Oh you met mom too?" Aveline asked, following them outside into the warm Florida winter.

"Yeah. She’s nice. Is it like a requirement of military dads to be hard asses?" Desmond asked, Connor closing the door and catching up with them as they walked to Desmond’s plce.

"I think so," Aveline said with a sly grin. "At the least having a scary military dad keeps the boys away."

Desmond groaned, “I know that feeling,” Alex had been terrified of Bill, even though Bill didn’t know they were going out. “So your friend played D&D?”

"Yeah," she nodded, "But it was a ‘boys thing’ and ‘no girls allowed’. Which is so stupid," she grumbled.

"Well Lucy and Rebecca both play, so you won’t be the only girl," Desmond told her helpfully.

"Great. Though I have no idea how to play-

"Me neither," Connor piped up at that.

"Don’t worry about it. We’ll teach you. As it is both me and Shaun are working on campaigns still. Today was just going to be a fun one-off day. So we’ll be able to show you," Desmond promised and they got to his house. Clay’s car was already there, parked next to his motorcycle.

When Desmond opened the door he found Clay and Lucy coming out of his room with the stuff. “Hey!” Clay called as he and Lucy dropped off the books and the white board. “You got him to come,” he grinned at Connor.

"Ava too," Desmond said as they came in. "You hear from Shaun and Rebecca?"

"They’re coming. They made a pit stop at Rebecca’s for… something. I don’t know Shaun was vague about the whole thing about why."

"… Ew," Desmond said and led Connor and Aveline to the table.

"Why did you have to say that!" Clay cried and pressed his hands over his eyes as Aveline sat, "I was pretending that wasn’t what they were doing!"

"Doing?" Connor asked, now sitting, while Lucy giggled.

"They probably stopped at Rebecca’s to fuck before coming to club," Desmond said and Clay made a pained noise like he was dying and promptly collapsed on the floor dramatically. Desmond went over to Clay and prodded him with his foot, "Ey, get up you big baby." Clay didn’t respond. He looked over at Lucy, "You have the most over dramatic boyfriend in the world, I hope you know that," he told her.

"You should see him in bed-

"Lucy, no!" Clay sat bolt upright and gave her the most pathetic look in existence.

"He sort of looks like that," and she patted his head, Desmond laughed.

"Lucy," Clay whined.

"You’re so dumb Clay," Desmond said and went back into his room to get the last things they needed for club.

When he came back out Clay was in a chair now and he and Lucy were explaining D&D to them. “So while we wait for Shaun and Bec to get here we can make your characters,” Lucy was saying. “It could take a while too.”

"Okay," Aveline said. "How do you make a character?" and Clay and Lucy looked at Desmond.

Desmond sighed, “Why are me and Shaun the only ones capable of filling out a character sheet properly?” he asked.

"Because," Clay said.

"Whatever," Desmond sat and grabbed the Player’s Handbook, and Clay pulled out two blank character sheets from the folder. "Okay so the first thing you’re gonna wanna do is pick a race," and he put the big book down between Aveline and Connor, opened to the picture of the races. "Then we’ll do class and your weapons and gear and stuff."

"How long do you think Shaun and Rebecca will be?" Connor asked, though sounded sort of like he didn’t want to know.

"If it was up to Shaun? Five minutes," Clay made a gagging noise when Desmond said that, "If it’s up to Rebecca… it could be a while," more gagging. Desmond threw a figurine at him to shut him up. Only when he successfully pinged Clay in the head did the blonde stop making gross noises and they helped Aveline and Connor with their characters.


	35. Chapter 35

Desmond woke when something clicked. It wasn't a familiar sound he was used to, and was fairly loud. Loud enough to wake him at any rate. He grumbled and pulled one eye open with difficulty. He felt really sore all over and realized part of that was because Altair was sleeping on his shoulder, pinning his arm and making his shoulder numb. He could feel the bruise on his chest from last night under his collar bone, tender with Altair laying on it.

He blinked and wanted to roll over and go back to sleep but he couldn't. He currently had a heavy football player lying on top of him. Perfect. Also he felt like he had to do something. What was he supposed to be doing? He groped for his cellphone. He'd put it on the side table, plugged in, before falling asleep.

"Stop movin', sleepin'," Altair grumbled against his skin.

"Shut up," Desmond said and tried to wriggle from under him.

"Stop, movin'," and Altair slapped his hand on Desmond's arm, "Or I'll give you a hickey to explain to your dad."

"Fuck you," Desmond said, but lay still. That was something he didn't want though. Bill hadn't been thrilled about the big hickey from that time after the Bourbon and since then he'd told Altair no hickeys on his neck. He'd been pretty accommodating since then honestly.

Desmond lay there for a little while, staring at Altair's yellow ceiling, the morning light through the windows washing out the color of the walls. Judging by the brightness Desmond guessed it was sort of late. It was the weekend though, he wasn't worried about school. But why did he feel like he needed to be somewhere? He tried going for his cellphone again but Altair was awake enough to grab his wrist and make him stop.

"Can I at least check my phone?" Desmond demanded, cranky. He just wanted to look at the fucking time.

"No," Altair said obnoxiously.

"Yes," and he wiggled to get out from under Altair. Altair did his best to make sure he couldn't, including kissing him. Morning breath sucked, a lot, but so long as Altair didn't shove his tongue in Desmond's mouth it wouldn't be much of an issue. It, more than anything, stopped Desmond in his tracks and he lay still.

Apparently Altair was more awake than he thought too because he shifted and straddled Desmond's hips, keeping him pinned. Desmond just lay back and let himself be kissed. He deserved it damnit. Altair had been so annoying yesterday because now he couldn't avoid being around him. Aveline hung around her brother and she was friends with him so sometimes Altair was just... there. It was so frustrating. Friday Desmond and his friends went to the beach and Aveline and her friends decided to invite themselves. He had sand rash on his flank and ass from the rough housing. So Altair being sweet on him was deserved and appreciated.

With Altair distracted by kissing him and eventually moving down to kiss his neck and throat, Desmond managed to grab his phone. He groaned softly as Altair sucked on his neck and turned on his phone. It was nearly ten and his brain ticked.

"Shit!" he cried and sat up, throwing Altair off him.

"The fuck!" Altair demanded.

"Shit shit shit. I need to go," and Desmond scrambled out of bed to find his clothes. He made sure they were his clothes before yanking them on.

"What? Where are you going?" Altair asked, confused.

Desmond looked at Altair, he was sitting on the bed, naked, the sheets around his waist, his hair all lumpy from sleep and just looked so good. Altair licked his lips and fuck that was just unfair. Connor would understand right?

Shit no. Think with the head on your shoulders, not the one between your legs. He needed to go. "I'm supposed to meet Connor, oh," he looked at his phone for the time again, "fifteen minutes ago," he checked himself. Wallet, keys, phone, iPod, check. Jacket? Shit where had Altair thrown his fucking leather jacket? And where was his helmet? Shit how the hell did he even sleep so late?

"Over there," Altair pointed, sounding suddenly bored with him. Desmond looked and saw his jacket hanging off the chair at Altair's desk, his helmet was on the desk itself. He grabbed it and pulled it on, looking at Altair. Altair was laying on the bed, sheet still around his waist, one of his knees bent up to the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest. Desmond couldn't see his face but he looked positively irritated.

Desmond had no idea what Altair could be irritated about. This is what they always did when Desmond stayed over. Have sex, sleep, wake up and Desmond left. Sometimes Altair made him breakfast and he got to take a shower. But Altair never seemed to care. Now though. This time he seemed to care and was being moody about it.

Desmond stood there for a moment, holding his helmet, jacket on, Altair acted like he wasn't even there, like the first time after Ezio's party when he'd treated Desmond like an inconvenience. He made a face but realized he couldn't worry about this or Altair throwing a little temper tantrum like a five year old and not talking to him. He left when Altair grabbed his own phone off the side table. "Bye," Desmond said, Altair's eyes flicked up to him but he said nor did anything else and just called someone instead.

"Jerk," Desmond muttered once the bedroom door was between him and Altair and he heard Altair talking in loud, annoyed, Arabic. Probably to Malik. Whatever, he couldn't worry about Altair. As he headed for the front door he pulled out his phone again and called Connor's house.

"Hello?" Ziio picked up on the third ring.

"Hi Mrs. Kenway, this is Desmond."

"Desmond, hello. You know I've told you to call me Ziio."

"Sorry," Desmond said, "Is Connor there?"

"No, he went to go meet you. Is he not there?"

Desmond cursed a storm up in his head, "I'm running late. I was checking if he just went home."

"He isn't here. He left early so he wasn't late," and if Desmond didn't feel like a dick head now he definitely did.

"Okay. Thanks Ziio," and he hung up, outside now. He shoved his phone into a pocket on his jacket and jammed his helmet on, buckling it. He muttered hateful curses about Mr. Kenway who wouldn't get his son a cell phone, and got on his bike. He turned her on and she rumbled. He winced a little as the vibrations shuttered up his back. Okay, note to self do not do that position again in the future without fully stretching. He just sucked it up though and pushed his bike back so he could turn around and get the hell out of there.

\--

Connor was still waiting for him when Desmond finally pulled up to him. The base had a lot of empty space at the bottom of the runway, perfect for what they were going to do. From here he could hear the ocean, lapping against the rocky shore, and above pilots were doing practice take offs and landings.

"I'm really really sorry," Desmond said after he'd turned his bike off and was taking off his helmet.

"It's okay," Connor said though Desmond could tell he was sort of jilted by Desmond being nearly half an hour late.

"No really. I'm really really sorry I'm so late. I slept in by accident," and the rest Connor didn't need to know, other than Clay no one else knew he was sleeping with Altair, and he wanted to keep it that way. "It won't happen again."

Connor frowned and then sighed, "Okay, I forgive you," Connor said.

"Great! Now," Desmond took off his jacket, having to tug his shirt back down when it rode up a bit, "you still wanna learn?" he asked. Connor nodded, "Okay, come over," Desmond beckoned and Connor went over to him. "So just sit on her for now, we'll work on getting her going and driving later," Connor awkwardly sat on the bike, getting on from the right, and wrong, side.

Desmond took the next half hour or so showing Connor all the knobs and gauges on his motorcycle. He taught Connor how to shift with his foot and how to get on and off the bike one without burning the shit out of his right leg and two without looking like a newborn deer. Connor listened intently the entire time and asked questions when he had them. Before Desmond knew he'd exhausted what he could say about riding a motorcycle without some real, practical lessons.

"How do you feel? Confident?" Desmond asked.

"I think I'll do okay," Connor said.

"Good. So start her up and just drive her in a straight line and brake. And you can't go too slow or she'll tip over. Effectively though it's like riding a bicycle."

"Okay," Connor nodded and leaned down to turn on the bike. Desmond shoved his helmet on Connor's ugly hair cut and clipped it in place. Connor swallowed and nodded again. He took his feet off the ground and put them on the footrests and gently turned down on the throttle. The bike rumbled and took off at a few miles per hour.

Connor drove to the end of the area they at and glided to a stop. "Wooo!" Desmond called after him and followed. "Good job," he patted Connor's helmet. "Now get off and I'll turn her around. Then you can do some turning and stuff."

"Okay," Connor said and put the kickstand down, seemed to think for a moment about how to get off the bike and hiked his leg over the left side.

Desmond sat quickly and drove in a circle back to Connor. "Okay, now just try and go in the circle," he pointed to the area they were in, which was a big circle of rock that had been cleared out for god who knew what.

"Okay," Connor said, much more confident this time. Desmond smiled as Connor drove off, going slow and kept pace just behind at a jog. Connor turned without mishap. Then Connor stopped again. "I do good?" Connor asked him when Desmond caught up with him.

"Yeah, you did great," Desmond said, grinning broadly. "So how do you like it?"

Connor sat on the bike a moment, looked thoughtful and then said, "How much do motorcycles cost?" and Desmond laughed. "No really. Maybe I can convince my mom to convince my dad to get me one."

"New ones are a few thousand. I got mine for a few hundred. But she's older and as a wreck when I got her. There's a pretty active bike community in the Keys though. You could probably find a cheap bike," and Connor tested the seat again. "I wanna get a nicer one at some point."

"But it's such a nice bike," Connor said.

"Yeah but there's no room for a passenger. That and I want a crotch rocket at some point."

"Why? Aren't they uncomfortable?" Connor asked and turned the bike off. Though motorcycles sipped gas so Desmond wasn't very worried about it.

"I'm... kind of an adrenaline junkie," Desmond admitted, it was part of the reason he liked whatever the hell he had with Altair. It was exciting. It was also why he liked having a motorcycle.

"I honestly wouldn't have guessed," Connor said.

"I'm kinda unassuming," Desmond agreed, "I don't feel the need very often. But dang, I just want a fast motorcycle and burn down Alligator Alley on it, or up seventy-five," he got a dreamy look in his eye for a moment.

"You really like motorcycles huh?" Connor asked.

"Yeap! I can even fix 'em. I basically repaired this girl from scratch when I got her. She needed nearly new everything except tires, forks, engine, and some of the gauges. So I had to learn to fix her up. It saves money on maintenance if I can just fix my own bike," Desmond said with a smile.

"Saving up for something?" Connor asked. Desmond nodded. "What?"

"Well besides college," Desmond hesitated a second. He hadn't told anyone this yet. It was a secret because he didn't want his friends (or his parents) to freak out, good freak out or bad freakout. Connor wasn't the kind of guy to 'freak out' about stuff though. He was really chill and just went with the flow. "I'm going to get a tattoo. Full sleeve. Eighteenth birthday present to myself."

Connor's eyes got big, "Really? Wow, that's really cool," Connor said.

Desmond nodded, "I've had this idea for a while. And I've been thinking about it for a while. So it isn't like I've just got a sudden craving."

"Full sleeve of what?"

Here Desmond blushed, sort of embarrassed, "I... drew my own design." He wasn't the best artist, but he'd shown it to the artist who was going to ink him up and they'd redrawn it for him to not look completely shitty. "Though someone with some actual talent redrew it for me," he added.

"That's still so cool. My dad would never let me get a tattoo."

"Heh... mine probably won't be happy either," he admitted. "Anyway, wanna keep riding?" he pointed at the motorcycle.

Connor looked at the fuel tank, then back at Desmond and nodded. "It's easier than I thought," he admitted.

"Yeap," Desmond agreed and Connor turned the bike on again. "Just be careful with her though. I'm saving up for the tattoo and I don't wanna have to buy new parts for her."

"Of course!" Connor said. He kicked up the kickstand again. Desmond stayed where he was this time, watching Connor drive in the big cleared out space for a while until his stomach complained it was hungry. Connor went back to his place for lunch.


	36. Chapter 36

Clay ran full into him when the lunch bell rang. He hadn't been around during lunch, off on his timely mission to get all the good school gossip. Desmond nearly fell over but Clay grabbed hold of him before he did. When Desmond was properly vertical and could look at Clay he saw his friend looked excited enough to vibrate straight out of his skin.

"Clay... you okay?" Desmond asked slowly.

"I just found out some of the juiciest news, and it needs to be shared, right now," Clay dragged him over to the railing and out of the flow of traffic.

"What the hell has you so excited? You haven't been this twitchy since you found won that bet about Ezio's last girlfriend," Desmond said and leaned against the banister that kept people from falling off the second story open walkway.

"One. I was right, as usual. I went to the band room to get any good stuff from Rauf and dun dun dun!" then he leaned over to Desmond so no one could overhear, "Rauf and Yusuf were in the quartermaster's office together-

"Yeah... so?" Desmond asked.

"Yusuf was on Rauf's lap. And not like how friends do," Clay bounced a little. "I didn't stick around though. Cause I'm not a weird voyeur-

"News to me-

Clay smacked him on the shoulder, "Anyway! I was right, as usual. Though it isn't 'official' yet since I was talking with Ava and she said she hasn't heard anything. She also thought I was crazy by the way," Clay said thoughtfully.

"Because you are," Desmond stressed. "I mean you thought that just because two people are near each other enough they'll go out. Not to mention Rauf and Yusuf don't even have the same friends, at all. They just inhabit the same space sometimes during football season. It's weird man," Desmond frowned.

"But that isn't all," Clay said, like he hadn't even heard Desmond. Desmond sighed and just slouched against the banister. "Malik and Leo broke up."

"... What? When? How?" now that was sort of interesting to him since Altair's mood was directly influenced by Malik's mood, which could be good or great for him. So if something was eating Malik usually it made Altair more snappy and annoying and a dick head.

"Last night apparently. I don't know why, but Malik broke up with him. Malik didn't come to school today either because apparently Ezio threatened to do something horrible to him for breaking Leo's heart."

"Geeze," Desmond rubbed his temple. He had tutoring with Altair today too. Today might be a nightmare.

"Ava said Leo took it really hard," Clay was still talking, totally oblivious to Desmond's mental turmoil. "He went home from school early for something, not sure, probably just being upset."

"Geeze, what a bunch of five year olds," Desmond groaned. "It's a breakup, not the end of the world."

"Yeah well you know how Leo is," not that Desmond could deny that, the entire school knew who Leo was. He'd won a big art contest, nation wide, and it had been aired on the morning announcements and since then you couldn't not know who Leo was. He was a pretty happy guy, could sometimes be a bit sensitive, and sometimes a lot oblivious, but he was okay. Desmond had seen some of his art. He was good. "Tomorrow he'll be fine."

"I meant more Ezio. Threatening a guy for breaking up with his best friend? He's absolutely insane."

"Yeah..." Clay agreed, "Ezio's a big meat head though. I'm sure Leo and Altair will talk him out of actually inflicting bodily harm on him."

"For my sake I hope so," Desmond sighed.

"Yours?"

"If Malik gets beat up it'll piss Altair off and... well-

"Oooh, I get'cha," Clay nodded. Not that Altair would hit him. But it wouldn't be unlikely if Altair took out some of his emotions during sex. "Stay away from him then. Cause fuck that guy I will kick his ass if he hurts you," Clay said very seriously.

Desmond smiled a little, "Thanks man. Trust me, I don't plan on getting in the middle of it."

"Good," Clay nodded, the bell rang.

"Shit. I need to go-

"Wait wait, one more," Clay grabbed his arm.

"Clay-

"Fuck, fine. I'll tell you after school," and Clay released him. Desmond literally ran to his locker, grabbed his books, and then ran to his class.

He slid into the class sheepishly, "Sorry," he told the teacher. They just told him to sit down. Caterina gave him a look when he sat.

"You're late," she said in a whisper as the teacher took roll.

"Yeah someone was talking my ear off," and then he realized who he was sitting next to. Caterina was friends with Ezio and Leo and sort of friends with the rest of Ezio's group of idiots.

"What'd they have to say?" she asked quietly.

"Leo and Malik broke up?" hoping that phrasing it like a question meant he didn't really care.

Caterina's face went stony a moment and he hoped he hadn't just pissed her off, "They did," she said, "Leo took it bad. Ezio took it worse."

"So I heard- Here," he added louder, when the teacher called him. "He wouldn't... actually hurt Malik right?" he asked.

"I hope not," Caterina said. "He might need to talked off a cliff. Here!"

"Or kicked away from the edge," Desmond rolled his eyes and felt a surge of pride in making Caterina giggle. She didn't laugh or joke often so to get that sort of reaction out of her was a confidence boost.

"Is something wrong Ms. Sforza?" the teacher asked.

Caterina just shook her head and hung it, smiling. Desmond was glad when the teacher just said they were going to work on their midterm packets. Desmond pulled out his and went back to talking, since it wasn't so unheard of for them to work out problems together. "Do you know why Malik did it?" he asked Desmond, still keeping his voice down, he didn't really want Altair to overhear.

"Way I heard it Leo said he was cheating," and Desmond's eyes widened. Malik was cheating? "Or accused him of cheating. He thought Malik was doing something and Leo was being weird and clingy. It's been going on for a few weeks, surprised Clay didn't find out about it sooner."

"So Malik just cut ties?" Caterina nodded. "Shit."

"Yeah. They haven't been happy for a while though. Malik is joining the Marines when he gets out of school and Leo's really against the war in the Middle East."

"Trouble in Paradise," Desmond said flatly.

"Something like that. But they've been fighting for a while and now it just-" Caterina stopped talking and working when someone came up to the table. They both looked, Desmond tearing his eyes away from Caterina and tried not to gulp at Altair standing at their desk. "Do you need something?" Caterina asked sharply, annoyance instantaneous.

"I was wondering if I could get some help," and though he was looking at Caterina his eyes flicked over to Desmond briefly.

"Don't you have a tutor to make sure you don't suck at chem?" she asked.

"I do. He's sitting right there," Altair looked at Desmond and now he did gulp. "Which is why I asked."

Caterina looked at Desmond, clearly it was up to him. Shit. This was a terrible situation. "Uh... I guess it's okay," he said, trying not to be awkward. Altair went and grabbed a chair to sit opposite him, the chair in front of Desmond empty. While he did that Desmond sent Caterina a look like he hoped she caught on fire. Caterina just raised her brows at him and he settled down when Altair sat. "What are you having trouble with?" Desmond couldn't help but sigh. Now he couldn't even avoid Altair in chem. Perfect.

"Problem six," Altair said and gave the both of them the most apologetic, pathetic, look ever.

Caterina sighed a little, "Okay. So this is what you do-

\--

Desmond arrived a bit late for tutoring. He'd attempted to meet Clay under the pavilion but Clay had had to go home because Harold apparently was in a mood and Clay needed to be home before he got there and stay in his room or he'd never be able to it. Desmond promised to call when he was done.

Altair was waiting for him, legs kicked out under the table and chewing on the end of a pen. He looked up when Desmond got close and Desmond felt himself stop slouching when Altair looked him up and down. He sat across from Altair. "Where were you?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter," Desmond waved it off. "So we're just gonna do vocab and work on the hand out," Desmond pulled out his and the vocab cards. "How do you feel about midterms?" he asked.

"Good," Altair nodded. "Though it's stupid they're after winter break. Do they do that in other states?"

"Not that I remember," Desmond said, "Though midterms are usually a big deal until high school," Altair nodded again and leaned back in his chair. "So we left off at problem thirty," Desmond said, flipping through the handout, "Or do you want to do the vocab first?"

Altair looked at him like he was thinking really hard about something. Or he thought Desmond was a moron. Which he wasn't, thanks, his GPA was one of the highest in the senior class. He had his arms folded and his lips pursed over to one side of his face. "Altair?" Desmond asked.

"I'm having a party the day after midterms," Altair said surprising Desmond, "You wanna come?"

Desmond blinked a few times, honestly not expecting that to come out of Altair's mouth. "Is it like a block party?" Altair nodded, "Booze?" Altair nodded again, "You have a better music selection than Ezio's parties?"

Altair snorted, "I was wondering if you'd ask Kaczmarek if he wanted to provide the music? Guy's got a good ear."

"I can," Desmond said and felt like he was having a weird, out of body, experience.

"What about you Miles? Gonna come?" and that did not have the reaction Altair probably thought it would because Desmond just felt turned on and his dick paid attention. Oh this was such a bad thing. Altair rose his brows at Desmond questioningly.

"Yes," Desmond said, surprising himself with how thin his voice sounded. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, sure, I'll come," and he was glad his voice didn't crack or do that weird thing it was just doing. "Is the party invite only?" Altair shrugged, "That isn't an answer you know," Desmond said, annoyed.

"Makes no difference to me. Ezio bothered me about having a party at my place since the last time he threw one everyone trashed the place. So we're having the end of mid term party at my place," he shrugged again, clearly he didn't give a fuck. But then Altair wasn't really a big party guy. "And I got the vocab, lets just work on the packet," he said.

Desmond's brain needed a few seconds to catch back up to what they were talking about, "Okay, sounds good," Desmond said and Altair pulled out his own packet.

\--

Once Desmond got home from tutoring he called Clay. "Hey," Clay said, speaking low.

"Hey. How you doing?"

"Fine. Dad's home. I'm staying in my room."

"You okay?" he asked as he went into the house and waved hi to his mom who was sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Clay assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah yeah I'm sure. I ordered Chinese already and it's here so I can just warm it up when I'm hungry."

"Okay," Desmond said and went into his room, though he always got worried when Clay did this. Harold wasn't... a nice dad. He was overbearing and controlling and judgemental. He wanted Clay to be an engineer to take over the family business, but Clay wanted to be an astronaut. Clay wasn't even allowed to say the word astronaut in Harold's presence without making his dad mad. Since his mom had died Harold had started to drink a lot and while most days he was fine, some days he got really drunk and yelled at Clay. As far as Desmond knew Harold had never hit Clay, but scream at him for sure. "If you want to you can come over."

"Yeah, I know," Clay said, sounding haggard. "He's just mad cause work's been stressful. It's fine, I'm fine," but Clay was still speaking softly, Desmond knew so Harold wouldn't be reminded he was there. Though if Clay wasn't actually there he'd get into a lot more trouble. It was a weird cycle of stupidity with Harold.

"So you still had that thing to tell me?" Desmond asked as he shrugged off his jacket and backpack. He kept the phone tucked up against his shoulder as he hung his jacket up and put his helmet on the back of his door.

"Yes!" Clay said delightfully and back to his normal self. "I heard, from Ava, that Altair-

"Is having a party after midterms? Yeah, I know," and Desmond fell onto his bed, bouncing a little and rolled onto his back to stare at his ceiling.

"... You know? How the hell did you know before I told you?"

"Altair told me," Desmond said watching his ceiling fan spin.

"... He did?"

"Yeah. And you're invited too. He wants you to play music. Not for money, just to hook up your iPod."

Clay was quiet for a moment, "Did he personally invite you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Dude. I think he likes you."

Desmond sighed, "He doesn't like me Clay," he ran his hand through his hair. "We just sleep together okay? Half the reason he even likes being near me I'm sure is cause he likes to imagine I'm naked," he made a face.

"Dude, he invited you to his party-

"He invited me after he invited you you fucking idiot," Desmond huffed. "He was like 'Hey Miles will you ask Kaczmarek if he wants to play music at my party? Also you can come if you want, whatever, not like I care, cause I don't care about anything cause I'm a gold medal jackass,'" he said in his best Altair impression which had Clay laughing into his hand. Desmond wasn't very good at impressions. "Ask Lucy if she wants to come. Basically it's a free for all."

"Sweet. Well I know Ava is going, and she told me she's dragging Connor along."

Desmond made a face, "Seriously? That kid is way too quiet to go to a party like the football players throw."

"Yeah I figure, but Aveline knows what she's doing. She wants him to socialize with more people other than the two of us. I mean he barely talks to Shaun, Rebecca, and Lucy and spends a lot of time with you cause you both live on base."

"I guess," Desmond made a slight face. "Still his innocent naivety is kinda cute-

"Oh please don't start."

"Whaaat?" Desmond huffed and rolled onto his stomach, "I'm allowed to think boys are cute."

"What about Altair?"

"What about Altair? We're not dating. This isn't an exclusive relationship. But really, once Connor gets all that hair out of his face he's... pretty cute actually."

"The haircut is pretty bad isn't it?"

"I just want to shave it all off!" and over his side Clay laughed quietly again. "Apparently his mom cut it for him and while I like Ziio-

"Yeah it's horrible," Clay agreed, laughed softly.

"He'd look pretty hot in a mohawk," Desmond said thoughtfully.

"Anyone looks good in a mohawk, Des," Clay said.

Desmond thought about this a moment, "Yeah you're right." Clay didn't reply. "Clay? Clay you there?" he asked after silence.

"Yeah, I'm here. I think I need to go though. My dad's stomping up and down the hall and pacing in the living room. I think... I think I should go."

"You're fine?" Desmond asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Trust me if my dad ever smacked me I'd call the cops."

"Good," Desmond said.

"I'll see you at scho- yeah he just yelled my name I'll see you tomorrow," and he hung up before Desmond could say goodbye. Desmond pulled his phone away from his face and frowned at it. He wanted to help Clay. But he didn't... really know how. Clay could handle it. Harold wouldn't hit him. At least he hoped not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> friendly reminder that comments are appreciated


	37. Chapter 37

It was probably one of the weirdest experiences Desmond had, walking up to Altair’s house when there were people there. The place was huge. Whenever he was there though it was always just him and Altair and the place was empty. Now though there were a bunch of people here and it reminded Desmond of the party at Ezio’s all those weeks ago. There were cars parked all along the driveway and even on the street and the music was going.

Clay had drawn the short straw this time, so he was designated driver. Desmond hadn’t bothered to bring his bike either, Clay had picked him up. Clay also looked _ecstatic_ to get to go into Altair’s house. Shaun hadn’t come, his aunt was coming to visit or something and his parents said he couldn’t go out and party (though really _party_ was a strong word to use on Shaun when he mostly sat around drinking beer and complaining). Rebecca was also absent because she was still playing Far Cry 3 after finally scrounging up enough money to buy it. So that meant it was just him, Clay, Lucy and…Connor. Aveline apparently was bringing Connor.

“Can you not look so damn happy to be here, _please_ ,” Desmond sighed as they found their way to the drinks which was in Altair’s expansive kitchen, the bottles all lined up on the island. They’d left Lucy to find the drinks and she’d been happy not to have to go look for it.

“Hell no. I get to see where my best bro has been sleeping,” and Clay pinched Desmond’s cheeks.

Desmond batted his hand away, “Fucker,” he growled.

“This place is really clean too. I’m surprised. This what it normally looks like?” Clay asked as he opened a bottle of Sprite and Desmond filled three red cups with ice from a cooler on the ground.

“No. There’s usually more art on the walls actually. I think he took it down so it wouldn’t get ruined,” he said thoughtfully. “And the knife block isn’t there,” he added, looking at the counter where the knife block usually was. The fact that Desmond _knew_ where the knife block usually was was actually a very serious concern for him.

“Any other differences you see?”

Desmond scratched the side of his neck before grabbing some vodka, “Not really. I mean I usually am not paying too much attention.”

“Doesn’t he normally make your breakfast?” and the only reason they were only having this discussion was because the- really terrible- music was so loud and there was no one else in the kitchen.

“I literally know what three rooms look like. The kitchen, his bedroom, and the bathroom,” he gave Clay a look before he could make some smart remark. Desmond poured vodka into two of the red cups and Clay topped them all off with Sprite.

“This literally sucks,” Clay moped, looking at his cup, Desmond was carrying the two with alcohol in it. “I don’t get to get drunk in Altair’s house. What a fucking waste.”

“Somehow I’m sure you’ll live,” Desmond said and they braved the crowd of people to find Lucy.

They found her, sitting on the floor by the large television that really was almost unrealistically big. It was also by the music center. They sat around her, “No where to sit?” Clay asked.

“All full,” she called over the music.

“Christ I can’t stand this anymore,” and Clay hopped up to his feet and pulled his iPod and an audio cord from his pocket.

“You seen Ava and Connor yet?” Desmond asked Lucy.

“No, but they aren’t here yet. Aveline texted me and told me they were just leaving. Something about their dad being a dick head… or something.”

“Yeah that sounds like him,” Desmond agreed. Haytham could be overbearing at times. Usually when Connor or Aveline wanted to do something and Haytham wouldn’t let them they had three choices. One was just go along with it. Two was call their mom and get him to let them do it. Or three (and this was a surprise to Desmond) tell their grandfather to come ‘kidnap’ them so they could enjoy themselves. Needless to say very rarely did they employ the first strategy.

“But they’re coming,” Lucy said as the music cut off. Several people looked at them and Desmond looked over at Clay who was bent around the entertainment system, standing on one leg and fiddling with something behind it. Then there was a low ‘wump’ of the speakers picking up a new system and music began playing again. Actual dance music too. Then Clay was sitting next to them again.

“Well that’s better!” Clay cried happily now that good music was playing. There were speaks all over the room for surround sound so they didn’t have yell over speakers that weren’t right behind them. “I made a playlist earlier and everything,” he said cheerfully.

“Why do you prep more to go to a party than you do to take your midterms?” Lucy asked him.

“I did fine on my midterms!” Clay insisted.

Lucy looked at Desmond, “He didn’t study for his biology final.”

“Dude, you suck at biology,” Desmond asked.

“Yeah so? I don’t need the credit cause I took two sciences last year,” Clay said defensively. “Besides I passed all my other ones,” Lucy rolled her eyes at him, “What? I did.”

“I never saw you study, ever,” Lucy said.

“You weren’t around me all the time though,” Clay reminded her.

“No. But I was around quite a bit,” and by the flush on Clay’s face Desmond knew what she was getting at.

“Okay Clay might like knowing about other people’s sex lives. Buuut, I don’t,” Desmond said and took two big gulps of his drink to help him forget he’d ever heard that.

“So, where’s Connor?” Clay asked.

“He’s coming. Aveline is too,” Lucy assured him.

“Great!” Clay said.

There was a lull in the conversation before Lucy said, “Does anyone else feel weird to be in Altair’s house?”

“No,” Clay said.

“Yes,” Desmond said.

“Why would you feel weird?” and Desmond kicked Clay for that. “Owww,” Clay whined. “What was that for, man?”

“You don’t even have the excuse of being able to get drunk stop asking dumb questions!” Desmond said.

“I didn’t think it was dumb,” Clay said as he sipped from his cup.

“So what’s weird?” Desmond looked away from Clay, to Lucy.

“I dunno. Ezio’s it wasn’t weird. I think he’s just more… accessible. Altair isn’t,” she looked at her cup, “I’m sure if I drink some more the feeling will go away,” she added.

“Yeah, probably,” Desmond agreed and they tapped the edges of their cups together and drank.

They were finishing their first drink when Connor found them. He looked completely and totally out of his elements here. He sat between Clay and Lucy, his terrible bangs hanging over his eyes. “Hi,” he said, slightly nervously.

“Hey Con, ‘bout time you got here,” Clay said.

“Yeah… Aveline was doing her hair,” Connor said.

“Want a drink? Desmond was just about to go get us some,” Clay grinned at Desmond who gave him a look. “Go on. I want Coke,” he added and put his cup in Desmond’s hands.

Desmond sighed, “Okay, you want something?” he asked Lucy.

“They have Jameson?” she asked.

“They do,” he nodded.

“Amaretto?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.

“If they do I want a Godfather and don’t even look at me like that I _know_ you know what a Godfather is.”

He chuckled, “Okay. Want me to surprise you if they don’t?” and she nodded. “What about you Connor? You want something?”

“Uh… I don’t know?”

“Just get him something good, Des,” Clay said.

“Okay,” and Desmond picked himself up and made his way back to the kitchen. There he found several people arguing over some tequila and the proper way to take a shot. Desmond ignored them, poured Coke for Clay, some more Sprite and vodka for himself and after a moment found the whiskey. Not Jameson sadly but Lucy wouldn’t notice. He topped it off with Coke instead since there wasn’t any of that other stuff. He made Connor a fruity drink and one that would go down easy made with juice some club soda and some vodka. Not nearly as strong as Desmond’s or Lucy’s but he remembered Aveline had said that Connor had never had alcohol before. So he made a baby drink for Connor.

The others were talking when he got back, his serving experience helping him carry four big cups at once. Lucy seemed very happy with her whiskey and Coke. “What is it?” Connor asked him.

“Just drink it, it’s yummy,” he assured Connor.

Connor drank, “Fizzy cranberry juice… they make cranberry pop?”

“One, I mixed it and two; did you just say _pop_?” Desmond asked.

“Uh… yeah?”

“Connor, it’s soda.”

“Yeah, pop,” Connor said.

“Are you from Michigan or something?” Clay asked.

“Uh… no? Is pop wrong?”

“You say soda in Florida,” Clay said.

“Or Coke in the South,” Lucy piped in.

“Florida isn’t the South Lucy, don’t insult our amazingly shitty state like that,” Clay said. Lucy snorted.

“Uh…” Connor was very confused.

“Just ignore them, they’re stupid,” Desmond said.

“Oh,” and Connor drank. Well, chugged would have been a better description since Connor had finished his drink in five minutes while they talked. Lucy and Desmond had only had a few sips. “That was really good,” Connor said.

“Did you finish it already?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah. I feel kinda warm…”

“What’d you put in it?” Clay asked Desmond.

“Like a three to one ratio,” Desmond said, sounding confused, “And just some Absolute, nothing fancy.”

Connor blinked rapidly at them, “Can I get more?” he asked.

“Ah, sure. It’s in the kitchen. I used cranberry, some of the club soda, and the Absolute,” and Connor got up to find the kitchen. “…Why do I feel like I just did something really bad?”

“No idea. I’m feeling pretty good about it though,” Clay said with a grin. “What?” he asked when both Desmond and Lucy gave him unamused looks.


	38. Chapter 38

Desmond was significantly more drunk than before. Not smashed, but he could feel it. It was why he was bouncing around the living room with about a dozen and a half other people while Clay played real music. Desmond was just happily enjoying his buzz when he full on bumped into someone.

That someone happened to be Aveline. “Oh, Ava,” he grinned widely at her.

“Hi Des. Have you seen my brother?”

“No,” he shook his head hard enough to make his ears move. “Why?”

“I can’t find him.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Desmond said.

“Would you help me look for him?” she asked.

Desmond thought about that a moment. “Sure,” he said nodding.

“Thanks,” and he followed her out of the living room. “Have you seen him at all tonight?”

“Yeah, and I made him a drink. A light one. He had another one and then I went to dance. Haven’t seen him since. He wasn’t with Clay or Lucy?” Aveline shook her head.

“Which is why I asked you to help me,” she said.

“Huh, okay,” he said nodding. They left the main part of Altair’s house and walked down the hall Altair’s room was off. Desmond noted that the family photos had been taken down and all the doors were closed. “Where are we going?”

“The back. Malik told me Altair has a back area-

“He sure does,” Desmond said without thinking.

She stopped and looked at him, “Excuse me?”

“Altair. His butt is nice,” Desmond said and then realized what he’d said, “Shit.”

She giggled, “Should I not tell them that?”

“Please don’t,” Desmond said and grabbed her arm pleadingly.

“I won’t,” she said but had a sly look on her face and they got to the back door.

“Thanks. So why are you looking for Connor?”

“Just wanted to check on him. He’s a drinking virgin and only sixteen, I wanted to make sure he was okay.”

“That’s… really nice of you,” Desmond said, pausing for a moment.

“Only way my dad would let us even come is because I said we wouldn’t get separated.”

Desmond snorted, “No offense Ava, but you had is-

“An asshole?”

“I was just gonna say uptight. But he’s your dad.”

“Step dad technically,” she said and opened the back door. Desmond didn’t even know this place existed. There was a _pool_ back here and music from inside was piped outside and there were people swimming and drinking. For some reason Desmond felt really annoyed he didn’t know about this place. He’d been to Altair’s a bunch of times and never knew he had a back yard, or a pool, or that there was a dock and a boat there either. “So you go that way, I’ll go this way,” she said and pointed in opposite directions around the pool, Desmond nodded and they separated.

Desmond didn’t notice him at first, but then he saw Connor with a bunch of the football players, including Ezio. Mainly because Connor was acting in a very… un-Connor manner in that he playing beer pong and yelling whenever someone missed, or when they landed a ball. Desmond stood and watched for a few moments, trying to figure out what was going on because his brain was having a hard time rationalizing the shy, soft spoken, sober, Connor, with drunk Connor who acted a lot like a… well like a dude bro and was cheering along with Ezio and the rest of them whenever something happened.

Aveline found him standing there, “Find him?” she asked him.

“I think…?” Desmond said, looking at Connor.

“Where- oh,” she sounded equally confused by what she was seeing. “I was not… expecting that,” she admitted.

“Me neither,” Desmond said and they both cocked their heads to the side when Connor, a very drunken Connor it should be added, tossed a ping pong ball from nearly ten feet from the table and landed it perfectly in a cup on the back of the table. There was much rejoicing. “I think he’s fine,” he said.

“Seems like,” Aveline said. “Thanks,” and she left him there, to go where Desmond had no idea. But he _did_ know he wanted in on this beer pong game.

—

Some time later Desmond was drunk. Like… _significantly_ drunk. The kind of drunk where he might not remember everything that happened tonight tomorrow morning. He was still at the beer pong table and was playing a horse version of the game. Connor was… freakishly good at it.

Desmond was not.

He was taking another sip of the tequila (cause while they were still calling it beer pong there was no beer and they were doing shots of tequila instead) after his team failed to replicate Connor’s trick shot which, for the record, were completely amazing, and grinned when Connor fell. Not hard, but he definitely fell on his ass. He’d been drinking too after all since his teammates weren’t as good as him at beer pong. Desmond had purposefully gone on the other team so he would drink a lot since he wanted to get fucked up. When Connor didn’t get up right away he went over to the other side of the table and saw Connor was sitting on the grass next to the patio looking stupefied.

Desmond looked down at him, “You okay, Con?” he asked. Connor said something that was way too complicated to understand. “What?” Connor said some more stuff. “Connor,” Desmond knelt with a little difficulty and pushed Connor’s bangs with one hand so Connor would look at him. “English bro.”

“I’m drunk,” Connor said.

Desmond laughed, “Yeah you are. C’mon, lets get you some water,” Desmond said and helped Connor up. Connor swayed a little and Desmond took his hand and led him back inside and to the kitchen. Most of the booze was gone now.

“Can I have that?” Connor asked, pointing at a nearly empty bottle of vodka.

“No,” Desmond said and pushed Connor into a concave corner of the counter and got a cup and filled it with ice water. “You can have this,” and he gave Connor the cup.

Connor drank, “I don’t feel good,” he said.

Desmond was with it enough to know what that meant. “C’mon,” he dragged Connor to a bathroom, “Puke if you need to,” he told Connor.

Connor looked down at the toilet and looked like he was thinking hard about if he needed to throw up or not. “I think… I think I’m good to not puke,” he said.

“Oh good,” Desmond said since Connor had some long hair and Desmond didn’t fancy holding it back while Connor puked. “Lets go find the others,” and Connor grabbed his hand when Desmond left. He found Clay where he’d left him originally, Lucy in his lap and Clay looked pleased about something, what though Desmond didn’t know.

Connor sat next to Desmond, “There you are,” Clay said, “Where were you?”

“Connor and me were playing beer pong horse with tequila,” Desmond said.

“Wow. Really? Where?”

“In the back yard by the pool,” Desmond said.

“Altair has a pool?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah it’s pretty sick if I remember,” and noted that Connor was low lying on him a bit like he was asleep. “Me and Connor played and now I am _really_ drunk, so is Connor,” Desmond said proudly.

“I can tell,” Clay said, “Lucy’s pretty happy too. Also apparently Becca is here.”

“What? When? Why?”

“She got lonely and wanted to hang out and get drunk,” Lucy said with a grin.

“Sup bitches!” and suddenly Rebecca was there and Clay squawked when she sat in Lucy’s lap.

“Becca!” Lucy hugged her friend.

“Hey!” Clay cried.

“Man why you complaining you got two cute girls in your lap,” Desmond said.

“They’re heavy,” he complained. “Also,” he nodded at Connor and Desmond finally looked at what Connor was doing. Connor had his cheek on Desmond’s shoulder and he hadn’t noticed before but he’d never let go of Desmond’s hand and was looking at it and tracing some nonsense patterns on the top of Desmond’s hand. It was kinda cute.

“Con,” Desmond said and Connor looked at him with big brown eyes hidden by his bangs. “You seriously need a hair cut man, or a new style,” and Desmond shoved Connor’s bangs out of the way so he could see.

“You think so?” Connor asked, slurring a little bit.

“Yeah. You’d actually look cute if you did,” Desmond said.

Connor suddenly flushed, “Y-you think I-I’m c-cute?”

Desmond grinned widely, “Yeah,” and he kissed Connor on the cheek. Connor turned bright red.

“Wow,” Clay said.

“What?” Desmond asked.

“I didn’t know Connor could pull off a cosplay of a tomato so spectacularly,” he said, having to lean around Becca and Lucy who were talking animatedly to each other.

“I could what?” Connor asked, “Wha’s cosplay?” he asked Desmond.

“It’s where you dress up as something, usually a character.”

“So like… Halloween everyone does cosplay?” Connor looked _very_ confused by the concept.

“Sort of,” Desmond nodded.

“Hmmm,” and then Lucy and Rebecca jumped up from Clay’s lap, making Clay fall over.

“Des, Des,” and Lucy pulled him to his feet.

“Woah, what- What is it?”

“Do you know this song?” she asked him.

Desmond stopped and listened, “Yeah…” She grinned at Rebecca and somehow Desmond knew that wasn’t a good thing. “Why?”

“Dance with us,” Rebecca said.

“But… I don’t like girls,” he whined really pathetically.

“So?” Lucy asked, “Clay isn’t fun at parties unless he’s drunk and doesn’t dance.”

“What about Connor?” Desmond complained.

“Will you just stop being a wet blanket?” Rebecca asked.

“Uuuuhg, fine. But,” he added before the girls could drag him away, “No touchy below the belt.”

“Sure Des,” and they both giggled and he let Lucy and Rebecca drag him out to where a lot of the people were dancing.

Dancing with girls… was fun actually. A lot of guys moved like hunks of wood, sort of bobbing back and forth. Becca and Lucy dancing was all hips. It took him a song or two or realize why they wanted him with them. He kept the other dudes away from grinding on them. Sure he was gay but most of the guys here were too drunk to know or remember that. So he just had fun on the dance floor with Lucy and Rebecca bumping around and into them, making them giggle when he nearly fell a few times. The tequila was progressively hitting him harder and harder right in the liver. And in the bladder.

“Desss, nooo,” they grabbed his hands when he tried to leave.

“Girls, I’m about to piss myself. I need to pee,” he pleaded with them. That made them release them and they laughed when Desmond wasn’t ready for it and nearly fell. Oh that was wonderful.

He quickly went to find the bathroom he’d taken Connor to. When he got to the door he saw someone on their knees, head fully in the toilet vomiting. It made him feel queasy so he went find another. He found another upstairs but it was also full. For some reason he heard the shower going. The fuck? When he heard multiple voices from within he realized he didn’t want to know actually. He found another one, or he thought he did. The door was locked though and he couldn’t hear anything. When he knocked loud crying started and he quickly left.

Back on the first floor the toilet head was still there and Desmond still had to piss like nothing else.

Well. He did know where one other bathroom was.

He tried Altair’s bedroom. It wasn’t locked and he slipped inside. He probably shouldn’t be in here but whatever. He went to Altair’s bathroom and sat down to pee because he didn’t trust himself to aim while he was this drunk. He sighed in content. He was washing his hands when the bedroom door opened.

Shit.

He peered out into the dark room and saw a figure illuminated by the rope lights in the head board. Just from silhouette alone Desmond knew who it was. Altair. Well he’d get nowhere hiding in the bathroom. And no doubt Altair could see him. So gathering up his meager courage bestowed on him by the tequila Desmond left the bathroom.

Altair was fiddling with something on his desk but when Desmond came in jerked up and looked at him. “… What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Sorry,” Desmond said sheepishly, “I really had to pee and all the other bathrooms were occupied.”

“Oh,” at least he didn’t sound annoyed or mad. Altair cocked his head at Desmond and Desmond knew he should get the hell out of here. He headed for the door. “Wait,” and Altair caught his hand. “Wait,” he said again and then Desmond found his back against a wall. He swallowed as he found himself suddenly breathing the same air and occupying the same space as Altair. His breath smelled like alcohol and his eyes were slightly unfocused.

Desmond said nothing and just licked his lips, waiting to see what Altair would do next. Altair hand his hand around Desmond’s wrist, the other pressed against his hip. Looking at him Altair seemed like he was trying to figure out what to do in this situation now, something made a lot more difficult thanks to the alcohol no doubt. “Stay,” Altair finally said and kissed him. Desmond couldn’t help but melt. He loved kissing Altair. He found it was his favorite past time and he honestly wouldn’t mind being able to spend an entire night just making out. No sex. Just making out like the stupid, hormonal, teenagers they were. Desmond grabbed onto Altair’s shirt and Altair pushed him more firmly against the wall, hiking his leg up a little.

It took him a few seconds though to really realize what was going on. What was going on and that… he didn’t want this. He didn’t want to fumble around with Altair in the dark, away from everyone. It reminded him of Alex who would barely even look at him when they were in public. It hadn’t been healthy. _This_ , this bull shit they did, wasn’t healthy. This stupid fuck buddy thing wasn’t what Desmond wanted. He’d never wanted this. He’d just sort of fallen into it without realizing it. Yeah it was nice. But he didn’t want to do this anymore. Jamie had been right; he didn’t have to settle and if it took having sex with Altair a few times for him to figure out, well at least he’d figured it out.

“Stop,” Desmond said, breaking away from Altair. Altair- drunk Altair when he seemed to really notice him, to actually want him- didn’t hear at first. “Altair, stop,” and he pushed Altair away from him a bit. There wasn’t much force in his hands though. He knew he just wanted Altair to stop what he was doing.

“What is it?” Altair asked, and though he wasn’t kissing or touching Desmond anymore he was still right up against him.

It would be so easy to say nothing. To just… let it keep happening.

“I don’t want to,” Desmond said, his voice amazingly weak it even surprised him. He cleared his throat and tried again, “I don’t want to have sex with you. Get off me.”

Altair blinked, surprised. Well tough shit. “Not now?” he asked.

“Not anymore,” Desmond said, “I can’t… do this anymore,” and he pushed at Altair again. Altair took a step back, still looking stunned Desmond had just told him off. “I don’t… want it like this,” and then he slipped out from around Altair and left the room. Altair didn’t stop him.

He found Clay and sat down behind him and draped himself over his friend. “Hey, wassup?” Clay asked.

“I wanna go home,” Desmond said, the previous encounter was starting to become hazy. He knew he’d been with Altair and told him no. But the specifics were starting to become fuzzy and he couldn’t remember exactly what had been said. He was really, really, drunk though so that was to be expected.

“Yeah?” Clay asked and checked his phone, “It is pretty late,” he agreed. “I’ll go find Lucy,” and he got up and went left Desmond. Desmond laid out on the floor feeling amazingly unsatisfied. He’d done something bad. But he couldn’t remember what. Well maybe not bad. But he’d done _something_ that for some reason made his chest feel weird. “Hey, buddy, c’mon, get up,” and Clay helped him back up. Desmond didn’t know how long he’d been lying there.

He followed Clay outside to the long driveway and out of it and down the street to his car. Clay unlocked the doors and Desmond crawled into the backseat, Lucy into the front. Clay said he needed to go find Rebecca and he’d be back. He locked the doors when he left, which was for the better since it wouldn’t be good for him and Lucy to be wandering around by themselves right now. And they were both too drunk to operate the locks.

“Hey Lucy,” Desmond said, leaning back in the seat.

Lucy turned around in her seat, peering over the top of the head rest, on her knees, “Hey Desmond,” she said, smiling.

Desmond forgot what he was going to say. “You’re really fucking cute,” he told her.

She giggled, “I thought you didn’t like girls,” she teased him.

“Cute has nothin’ to do with what I want to do with their bits…” they both made a face and laughed at that. “Cute is just… cute. Like. You’re really cute. So is Clay. Wow. Clay is cute too.”

“That’s _my_ boyfriend, Desmond,” Lucy reminded him.

“I sucked his dick before you did-

“Desmond!” she cried and leaned over to him so she could smack his chest.

Desmond laughed, “No. I didn’t. We just kissed hmmm… Clay was a really shitty kisser. I hope he’s gotten better,” Lucy laughed again. “But yeah. Clay’s cute. You’re cute. Becca’s cute,” he suddenly went limp as a realization hit him. “Shit.”

“What?” Lucy asked him.

“Everyone is just so fucking cute. All my friends. Everyone at the party. I just wanna kiss _all_ of them,” and Lucy snorted. “What?”

“Even the girls?”

“Even the girls,” Desmond proclaimed. “I’m drunk enough to not give a shiiit,” and then the far door was suddenly opened. A large form was shoved into the other side of the car.

“Make sure he doesn’t throw up in my car,” Clay’s voice said and then slammed the door. Connor was shoved all up against Desmond.

“He’s super cute too,” Desmond pointed at Connor.

“He’s all right,” Lucy shrugged.

“Naw,” Desmond said. “Con, Con… Radodogedo,” he poked Connor a bit.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton,” Connor groaned.

“Yeah, that. Connor, get up,” and he pushed Connor up to bit so he could sit up. Connor was _blasted_. Desmond had never seen someone that drunk before. “Con… Con you okay?”

“I fine,” he slurred.

“Connor. Desmond thinks you’re really cute,” Lucy said.

“Ya doo?” Connor asked, still slurring, “I tink ur real cute too, ma’hn,” 

Desmond snorted, “You’re fucking drunk, dude,” he said.

“Yeaaaaaah,” Connor agreed, the door opened again and someone else was pushed in. Connor was now squeezed between the both of them.

“Connor,” Clay’s face appeared.

“Ya?” Connor asked.

“Do I need to give Aveline a ride home?” Rebecca started to laugh wildly. “Becca, what the shit?” he asked.

“You don’t,” she toned it down a bit. “Malik’s giving her a ride. Maybe not a ride home though,” she cackled.

“… I’ll investigate that later. Lets just get you idiots home,” Clay said and closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. Lucy immediately leaned over and said something into his ear. “Oh!” he said, “Well… that sounds fun,” and Lucy giggled happily. “Everyone put on your safety belts,” Clay ordered. It took some fumbling, but they all got their belts on, though Connor and Desmond had trouble finding and putting Connor’s on.

“All set,” Desmond said proudly.

“Great,” Clay said, slightly sarcastic, and drove off.

The ride to Boca Chicha was silent but not uncomfortable. Clay got onto the base just fine and drove to Desmond’s place. “Okay Des, this is you. Need me to help you to the door?”

“Pffft, no. Fuck you. I can do it myself,” and Desmond managed to untangle himself from his seatbelt and open the door on his own. He stumbled out into the warm Floridian winter night. He was about to close the door when Connor followed him. “Con, what’re you doing?”

“What?” Connor asked.

“Con, man, I can drive you home,” Clay called from the front seat, Lucy’s window rolled down.

“I cahn walk,” Connor said, “Not dat fah,” he was still slurring but he seemed to be able to stand on his own.

“You sure?” Clay called.

“Yap!” Connor said.

“Whatever you say man. Des, close the door so I can take Rebecca home.”

Desmond closed the door, “Night guys,” he said through the window and made Connor’s hand wave.

“Night,” Connor mimicked.

“Make sure he doesn’t die,” Clay told Desmond.

“Bye Clay,” and Clay rolled his eyes and drove off.

Connor sagged against Desmond, “I dun tink I cah walk ‘ome,” Connor said miserably.

“Ffff- Connor,” he sighed. “You can spend the night if you want.”

“I cahn?” he asked.

“Yeah. Clay spends the night all the time. C’mon,” and they managed to get to the door. Desmond struggled with the lock for a good five minutes before getting the door open. But he did get the key to work and they walked into the nice air conditioned house. “Shhh, my parents are asleep,” Desmond told Connor, finger to his lips. Connor put his fingers to his lips as well as Desmond closed the door softly and led Connor to his room.

Desmond was opening his room when slightly down the hall his parents’ door opened. “Desmond?” he looked and saw his father’s face emerge from the dark.

“Heeeey dad,” Desmond said, “We were trying to be quiet.”

“What’s Connor doing here?”

“He’s too drunk to walk home by hisself,” and Desmond giggled a little. William frowned at him. “And I’m too drunk to walk him. He’s gonna crash on the floor.”

William eyed Desmond. “Fine. Next time try not to drink so much. And you still have chores tomorrow I don’t wanna hear about your hangover.”

“Yeah dad,” and he shoved Connor into his room.

“Goodnight Desmond.”

“Night dad, love ya,” Desmond beamed at him.

William paused, “Goodnight, son,” and he closed the door.

“Oh thank god,” Desmond said to himself and went into his room. Connor was face planted on his bed, out like a fucking light, fully clothed with his shoes on. Desmond went over to the bed, kicked off his shoes, managed to wrestle out of his jeans and into some pajama pants and laid down next to Connor. He managed to get under the covers before passing out.


	39. Chapter 39

The next morning Desmond woke because of two reasons. One, his arm was asleep and it hurt in a white noise sort of way. Two, he had to pee really, _really_ , bad. When he finally did open his eyes he thought at first he was facing his wall and was all tangled up in his sheets. Upon a bit more observation he realized that the reason his arm hurt was because someone was laying on it and his sheets weren’t sheets, but rather an arm and a leg and he was up against someone’s chest.

He was ninety percent sure he’d gone home in Clay’s car last night. Had he just imagined that in a drunken stupor last night? Had he ended up in Altair’s bed _again_? This was really starting to become a regular thing. He did a self check. He didn’t _feel_ sore like he’d had drunken sex. And the arms around him didn’t feel like Altair either. Bleary eyed Desmond leaned back a bit so he could see who he was snuggled up against.

Well. He wasn’t expecting that.

“Con,” he said and wriggled. He still had to pee really bad. “Con, wake up,” and he stated poking Connor in the face. On his cheeks and forehead and anywhere he could get his fingers. “Connor wake up I need to go,” and he tugged on his arm under Connor’s bulk.

“Eh?” Connor asked, eyes not opening, he sounded really hungover.

“ _Move_ , I need to piss and I don’t wanna do it on the bed,” Desmond shoved him a little.

Connor whined unhappily at being shoved and rolled over and off of Desmond. Desmond, who’d been yanking on his own arm, wasn’t ready for it and he flailed off his own bed and onto the floor with a thud. “Ow,” he complained before navigating the process of becoming vertical again with the help of his bed and headboard with only minor set backs.

He walked stiff legged to the bathroom across the hall and sat because he didn’t have the mental functions to aim. His eyes closed and he tried to remember what the hell had happened last night.

He remembered dancing. And then meeting Aveline. He also remembered finding Connor playing beer pong like a fucking dude bro and playing himself. He drank a lot. And then after that? Most of it was blurry after that and a good part of it just black. He’d never gotten black out drunk before.

There was a knocking on the door which jolted him, “Desmond,” his father called, “you all right in there?”

“Yeah?” Desmond called back.

“You’ve been in there for ten minutes,” he said. He had? Shit he was hung over. “Also is Connor still here? His father called looking for him.”

“He’s here,” Desmond called back. There was no reply but he knew his dad had heard. Desmond got up and washed his face and brushed his teeth, his mouth tasting like death, before going back to his room.

Connor was still lying on his bed, back to the wall now, clutching one of Desmond’s pillows. Rubbing his head Desmond went and found his phone, which was lying on the floor nearly dead.  He plugged it in and sat at his desk. He had some messages. A few from Becca who was known to drunk text and lived up to that. A few of the messages were pictures from the night before, all of them blurry. The others were from Clay.

‘Connor make it home okay?’ ‘you awake yet?’ ‘I hope you two didn’t get alcohol poisoning, you were /wasted/ last night.’ ‘Text me when you wake up.’

‘I’m awake,’ Desmond texted back and finally checked the time on his phone. It was nearly noon. ‘Connor’s alive. He spent the night.’

His phone started to ring, that made Connor restless and roll around, trying to ignore the noise of Clay calling. “Hey,” Desmond said, leaning on his desk.

“How you feel?” Clay asked.

“Hungover,” Desmond groaned.

“Connor’s there?”

“Yeah, he spent the night and is currently hogging all my pillows.”

“Lucky bastard,” Clay said, only a bit sarcastic.

Desmond rolled his eyes, “You get to sleep in my bed all the time, shut up,” he huffed.

“Anyway. Wanna go to El Sib for lunch?”

“Eeehhhuuh,” Desmond rubbed his head, “Maybe. I’m pretty hung over. I’ll ask my mom if I can borrow her car since I don’t wanna drive my bike hung over.”

“Okay,” Clay said, “You just woke up didn’t you?”

“Well yeah-

“Can you stop talking, it makes the walls move,” Connor groaned from Desmond’s bed.

Desmond turned in his chair and looked at Connor, “Get up Con, we’re going to get hangover cures,” Connor moaned miserably. “We’re gonna have to introduce him to Cuban coffee,” Desmond said, sitting back right in his chair.

“Might actually put hair on his chest,” and Desmond laughed so hard her nearly fell off his chair. “C’mon man it wasn’t _that_ funny,” Clay sighed.

“Whatever,” Desmond giggled, “Lucy still with you?”

“Yeaaaah, lazy bones is still hanging in my bed. Though I guarantee I had more fun with my bed mate than yours- Hey!” he cried at the end.

“She just smack you?”

“Yeah,” he whined, “on the arm.”

“You deserved it,” Desmond said.

Clay wasn’t speaking directly into the mic when he said, “Lucy Desmond said I deserved it… no that doesn’t mean you can do it again… we’re going to lunch… I’ll grab you some towels in a second,” and then back into the receiver, “Sorry about that,” but Clay sounded distracted. Somehow Desmond knew Lucy was walking around either half or fully naked to go take a shower. “So meet in like an hour at El Seb?”

“Sure. Becca coming?”

“No idea. I texted her, yet to get a reply.”

“You did see her walk inside right?”

“See her? Man she couldn’t even walk when we got there. I had to knock on the front door and hand her off to her dad. She was even worse than you two.”

“Geeze. Hopefully we won’t have to have an intervention,” Desmond teased.

Clay snorted, “She might be grounded,” Clay added. “If I don’t hear from her in forty five minutes we’ll just assume she’s asleep still.”

“Okay. I’m gonna get ready. Meet you at El Seb in an hour, maybe Connor can come.”

“Maybe?”

“His dad called my dad, sooo I think he might be in trouble. Haytham’s a hard ass,” he shrugged.

“Oh well. See you in an hour,” and Clay hung up.

Desmond then turned to Connor who was now lying face down on the bed, “You going to get up or what man?” Desmond asked him.

Connor pushed himself up onto his elbows, his hair hanging down in front of his eyes. “Des?” he asked, dumbly, as if realizing for the first time who it was.

“Yeah, man,” Desmond said, raising his brows at him.

That’s when Connor seemed to actually wake up and realize he wasn’t sleeping in his own bed, or was even at home. He sat up abruptly before nearly falling over from the sudden head rush. Desmond waited while Connor got his shit together, though watched with a bit amusement. Connor pushed his bangs up and out of his face, holding them on top of his head, “Did we sleep together?” Connor asked him.

“In the same bed yeah,” Desmond said, a bit amused.

Connor stared at him, “… I don’t remember last night,” he confessed. “Did we do anything?”

Desmond snorted, “Hell no man. You were too fucking drunk.”

“I was?” Connor rubbed his face, “I have the _worst_ headache,” he groaned.

“Welcome to a hangover,” Desmond said. “Now go home and wash up, we’re going out to lunch?”

“What?” Connor squeaked, looking at Desmond through his fingers.

“After we go out and get drunk everyone goes to El Siboney or something for Cuban coffee and Cuban food. Now get up we’re meeting Clay in an hour.”

“We are?” Connor still looked sort of shell shocked.

Yeah,” Desmond got up and grabbed Connor’s hands, pulling him up off the bed. Connor was a wet noodle though and couldn’t get his feet under him quite quick enough. He ended up sort of falling on Desmond but they didn’t crumble to the ground and Desmond held him up. They ended up really close, faces almost touching. Connor’s face turned bright red and Desmond grinned at him. God he was really cute.

“Ah,” Connor got himself together and stood on his own, pulling away from Desmond, “Where are we going again?” he asked and ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back slightly.

“El Siboney, its a Cuban place down on Catherine street,” Desmond said.

“Oh, okay,” Connor nodded and went looking for his shoes. “Who’s coming?”

“Clay, Lucy, and us. Not sure if Becca will or not. She might still be dead to the world,” Desmond said as Connor found his shoes and put them on.

When he was done he turned back to Desmond, “… Are you _sure_ we didn’t do anything?” Connor asked.

“Dude, you’re still in your clothes from last night,” Desmond said, because Connor was being stupid. Then he got a thought. “Why? Do you wanna do something?”

Connor turned red again, “I’ll see you in an hour,” and with jerky steps went to Desmond’s door. Desmond followed after him and made sure he didn’t get eat floor or something. He watched Connor walk off down the street from his front door, and Desmond admitted he might have been staring at his ass.


	40. Chapter 40

Lucy and Clay were already there, waiting for them, when Connor and Desmond showed up. They had a table in the back, squeezed into a corner, away from the bright light coming from the windows. Lucy looked appropriately hung over, and Clay looked annoyingly cheerful.

“There you are,” Clay said, smiling at them when they sat. Connor chugged the ice water. They’d been home long enough to shower and change before Desmond was dragging him out again. Haytham hadn’t been home to stop them either, so that was a plus.

“Traffic,” Desmond said and rubbed an eye, next to him Connor was pouring over the menu.

“I ordered you coffee,” Clay said, Lucy was nursing her own cup of Cuban coffee already. It wasn’t the best here. But it was good.

“Thank god,” Desmond said and like on cue two cups were put down, one in front of Desmond, the other in front of Connor. They needed time to order for Connor though, so the waiter left.

“What is this?” Connor asked as Desmond dumped about six packets of sugar into his coffee. He was moving the coffee around in his cup. Cuban coffee, while liquid, was very thick, and very strong, though was a creamy color from the milk already added to it.

“Coffee,” Desmond said, mixing in the sugar and taking a sip. It hit him like a kick to the face. Say what you wanted about the Cubans, they made the strongest coffee in existence. Connor blew on it and took a tentative sip, and everyone laughed because it looked like he’d just sucked on a lemon.

“That isn’t coffee,” Connor said, “That’s liquid caffeine.”

“Same thing,” Clay shrugged, “And look at the menu, I’m starving,” he added.

“So how was the rest of your night?” Desmond asked Clay and Lucy as Connor took another sip of the coffee and looked at the menu.

Clay looked at Lucy and Lucy gave him a look, he looked back at Desmond, “Eventful,” was his wise remark. Under the table Lucy nudged him. “Yours?”

“Uneventful,” Desmond yawned, “Connor was too drunk to walk home last night… I think. We crashed literally as soon as we got inside. This guy,” he poked Connor’s shoulder, “didn’t even make it out of his shoes,” Connor looked at him from over the top of the menu, brows down over his eyes looking concerned.

Clay chuckled, “You remember last night?”

Desmond scratched his neck, “Parts of it. I remember beer pong horse. Connor’s good at beer pong-

“I am?” Connor asked.

“Yeah, don’t you remember?”

“I don’t remember really anything past seeing you guys,” Connor said, straight faced. “Is that normal?”

“No,” Clay said slowly just as the waiter showed up. They ordered and Connor seemed to pick something at random in a panic. “This was your first time drinking?” Connor nodded, “and you got black out drunk?” Connor nodded again.

“Good first time,” Lucy said, “Throw up?”

“I… don’t think so,” Connor said and he looked at Desmond, “I played beer pong? I don’t even know the rules for beer pong.”

Desmond laughed, “Well you were playing it last night, and despite being drunk as hell, you were super good at it. Better than me and I’m good at drunken beer pong,” he grinned.

“I literally don’t remember anything,” Connor said, sounding really confused. “I guess I had fun though, right?”

“It looked like it,” Desmond said. “How about you?” he asked Lucy.

“I remember _most_ of it.”

“She got really drunk after Becca showed up,” Clay put in. “Thankfully for all of you, I remember _all_ of it,” he grinned widely.

“Oh joy,” Lucy said, sipping her coffee gingerly. “Hopefully you were actually better last night than I remember-

“Hey!” Clay cried and gave her the most annoyed look, shocked she’d even say that. Desmond covered his mouth so he wasn’t snickering out loud and Connor didn’t get it. “You’re the one who always gets on my case about that stuff and you say that,” Clay frowned at him.

“Yeah but you don’t know when to _stop_ talking. I just say enough so they don’t want to know anyway,” Lucy said smugly.

“And I really don’t, thanks,” Desmond said drinking from his cup.

“What else happened last night?” Connor asked.

“You and Desmond almost made out,” Clay said.

“Twice,” Lucy held up two fingers.

“Twice?” Clay asked her.

“In the car, you were getting Becca,” she said.

“What?” Connor squeaked and turned red.

“I honestly don’t remember that,” Desmond said truthfully.

“We almost did what?” Connor asked.

“Made out,” Clay said, grinning widely.

Desmond just shrugged, “I- I… sorry,” Connor told Desmond.

“Why?” Desmond asked.

“Uh… well… uh-

“Con, dude, it’s cool,” Desmond waved off whatever explanation he had.

“Oh,” Clay said, “He doesn’t know?”

“Doesn’t know?” Desmond asked.

“What don’t I know?” Connor asked, looking worried. Before Clay could say anything their food was brought. Desmond got his usual, Connor got steak, and Clay and Lucy were sharing a whole chicken. He poured the beans all over everything and ate a few bites as Connor said, “What don’t I know?”

“Desmond’s totally gay,” Clay said, mouth full.

“Don’t talk and eat at the same time, its gross,” Lucy said.

Clay swallowed, “Sorry,” he said.

“You are?” Connor looked at Desmond like he’d never seen him in his life.

“Yeap,” Desmond said and shrugged, “It’s Key West, we’re everywhere,” and he popped some pork into his mouth. It was the best cure for the hangover, rich, juicy, pork.

“Oh,” Connor said and looked like he was digesting that information. He looked at his plate and went about cutting his steak, not saying anything.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Desmond asked.

“Not being in the sun is what,” Lucy said.

“I meant besides that,” Desmond rolled his eyes.

Clay was staring at Connor, “Why don’t we give Connor a haircut?” Connor looked up sharply, cheeks full and made a ‘what?’ sort of noise. “Your haircut sucks, and you just moved here, you should get a new one. One that is better for the heat.”

Connor swallowed hard, “Like what?” he asked.

Clay looked at Desmond and grinned before looking at Connor again. Desmond knew what Clay was getting at. “How about a mohawk?”

“What?” Connor asked, “No way. My dad would _literally_ kill me if I got something like that.”

“Yeah so?” Clay asked, “Can’t be a daddy’s boy your entire life Connor.”

“I bet your mom would think it was cool,” Desmond put in. “Aren’t you Mohawk?”

“Yeah… but I mean it isn’t… you don’t just get a mohawk.”

“Why not?” Desmond asked. “Not like there are any Mohawk in Florida to know you didn’t do X, Y, Z to get it or whatever. All we got are Seminoles.”

Connor frowned, “I don’t think so,” he said.

“Well what about an undercut?” Clay asked, “So you can keep your hair, not that I know _why_ you would-

“You’re one to talk,” Lucy said, giving him a look.

“Huh? Shit if Connor gets a mohawk I’ll get one with him,” Clay said without pause.

Connor blinked, “Seriously?”

“Hell yeah. We’ll be mohawk buddies,” and he reached across the table to ruffle Connor’s hair. “Besides, guys with mohawks are hot. Right?” he asked Lucy.

“I guess,” she said.

“Right?” Clay turned to Desmond.

“They are,” he admitted, “too bad you never asked me out with a mohawk, I might have actually said yes.”

Clay snorted, “No you wouldn’t have.”

“Yeah probably not,” Desmond agreed with a cheeky grin.

“So?” Clay asked Connor.

“We’ll get mohawks?” Connor asked.

“Sure! It’ll be fun. I know a place that does good cuts.”

“Uh…” Connor glanced at Desmond, he was shoveling more rice and beans into his mouth, “Okay,” he said, though sounded unsure.

“Your dad will so get over it,” Clay promised, “Not to mention you can just wear it down, and boom; full head of hair,” Desmond didn’t have to look to hear the :D emoticon in Clay’s voice either. He did hear Lucy sigh though, she’d heard it too.


	41. Chapter 41

The barber shop was on Flagler. There was no one waiting for a cut so they got to sit down. Lucy and Desmond sat in the waiting area as Clay told the barber what he and Clay wanted and that it needed to be together or else Connor would chicken out.

“Remind me why you’re dating him?” Desmond asked Lucy as Clay and Connor sat down in chairs next to each other.

“Hmm?” Lucy asked. There were two hair dressers and they both took one of the guys.

“Why you’re dating Clay when he’s crazy,” Desmond said.

Lucy was quiet a moment and folded her leg over her knee, “He’s cute, and he makes me laugh,” she said in a deciding tone.

“Yeah, he’s ridiculous,” Desmond agreed.

“Why?” Lucy asked.

“Cause personally? I think you’re way too good for him,” Desmond said and the buzzers started.

Lucy laughed a little, “Oh, I know,” she shrugged. “Just looking out for us?”

“Basically. Do you know how awful it would be if you broke up?”

“For who?”

“For _me_ ,” Desmond said and the hair cutting started. Connor had his eyes closed tightly. “Clay’s had a crush on you for like… ever,” Desmond gave her a look.”

“Awww, that’s cute. I didn’t know that,” she said.

“You talking about me over there?” Clay called.

“No,” Desmond called back.

“Yeah you are, I can _feel it_.”

“We’re not Clay. Now be quiet so the nice woman can finish your hair,” and Clay didn’t say anything after Lucy told him to shut up. 

“You’re welcome,” Desmond said, a bit smugly.

“Oh shut up,” she told him, giving him an unimpressed look. Desmond knew she knew what he meant. Without him they’d still probably being weird and not dating and Clay would be an oblivious idiot. It probably wouldn’t have ended well if they’d been allowed to continue as they had been. She rolled her eyes at him and looked back at the two boys getting mohawks. “Going to ask Connor out?” she asked him, not looking at him.

“What? Pfft, no,” Desmond said.

“Why not?” she asked and gave him a concerned frown.

“I’m pretty sure he’s straight,” he said. “And he knows,” he shrugged.

“Okay,” was all Lucy said. “And yeah he does look cuter without all that hair in his face,” she said.

“Huh?” Desmond said.

“Last night you said Connor was cute. And yeah, totally agree, Connor’s totally cute with a better haircut,” and as she said that Clay was finished with his. He jumped off the chair and checked himself out in the mirror.

“Awww yeah, I look awesome,” he said and paid his stylist. “Lucy, Lucy,” Clay bounded over to them, about as happy as a puppy, “touch my sides,” and he offered his head up for her.

She laughed, “Ahhh, fuzzy,” and she pulled his head forward so she could run both her hands against the sides of his head.

“Knew this was a good idea,” Clay said triumphantly was Lucy was done petting his hair and stood up, ruffled his short mohawk, and turned back to where Connor was. Connor still had his eyes closed tightly.

“Okay kid, you’re done,” the barber told Connor and patted his shoulder, taking off the bib.

“Oh I’m in so much trouble,” Connor said when he finally squinted his eyes open and saw that his hair was all gone on the sides. His mohawk hung over one side of his head showing that indeed, it was gone.

“It looks awesome!” Clay cried and went to help Connor stand since he seemed a bit shell shocked. “Right Des?” he called back.

“Hell yeah,” Desmond agreed and he and Lucy got up. Connor paid the barber and kept touching his hair, or rather, lack of.

“Here,” Lucy said, coming up behind Connor as they headed for the exit. “Hold still a sec,” and he held very still, though looked like he kept wanting to touch it. She pulled a hair tie out of her purse and used her fingers to card Connor’s hair back before pulling it back into a pony tail. “How’s that?” she asked.

“Wow Con, you look awesome,” Desmond told him, not even lying. He’d been right. Connor was cute with his hair out of his face, but with a mohawk, a ponytail, and the hair out of his face, he was beyond cute. He was _fine_ as hell.

“I feel so weird,” Connor made a face and patted his head.

“Well you just cut off all your head weight,” Clay said, “And you donated all that mess right?”

“Yeah,” Connor nodded.

“Good. So, we both got new dos, which by the way, look fucking _cool_ ,” Clay stressed, “What do we wanna do now?”

“Uh… I have no idea,” Desmond said. “I got some chores I need to do before it gets too late though,” he added

“Movie?” Lucy asked, threading her arm around Clay’s. “Hansel and Gretel just came out-

“You just want to look at Renner’s butt,” Clay said.

“So?” Lucy asked, “I’m sure Desmond would appreciate it too.”

“Also, there are explosions,” Desmond added, “What do you think Con?” he asked Connor.

“I can’t afford it,” he said, “After lunch and the haircut, I’m broke.”

Desmond looked at Clay and Lucy and then back at Connor, “We’ll split your ticket.”

“What? No you don’t have to it-

“You can’t get home without me driving you anyway and if we’re going to see a movie might as well all go,” Desmond said, “So up for it?”

Connor blinked, “Yeah,” he nodded.

“Its decided, lets go!” Clay said cheerfully and they headed for their cars.

Once sitting the passenger seat with Desmond Connor said, “So it doesn’t look bad?”

“What? The haircut? Hell no. It looks cool.”

“Really?” Connor asked.

“Yeap,” Desmond reached over and touched the side of his head, “And buzz cuts are like my favorite,” he grinned and turned on the car. Satisfied Connor grinned at him and pulled on his safety belt. Desmond followed Clay out of the parking lot towards the theater.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn’t there supposed to be something about jealous/possessive Altair in here somewhere?

Altair was extra grumpy on Monday. As if Altair _needed_ to be more irritated during tutoring. But he was. In fact he was positively _pissed_ , and Desmond had no idea why. At least it didn’t seem he was mad at Desmond. Altair just seemed mad at the world. He just wanted to make it through the tutoring session in one piece.

They only had a few minutes left of their normal time when Desmond broached the hostility, “Are you okay?”

“What’s it to you?” Altair growled, and sat back in his chair, sinking into his hoodie since it was actually cold enough to wear one.

“Well you look like you’re about to rip my throat out,” Desmond said slowly, “Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t personal.”

Altair took a deep breath through his nose, like to calm himself. But his jaw was tight, he wasn’t calm at all. “I’m not going… rip your throat out, really that’s what you came up with?”

“What would you prefer murder me in my sleep? Because I could have gone with that one too,” Desmond said, cocking his head a little.

Altair sighed, “It’s not… nothing,” he grumbled, still annoyed, but deflated now. Then, like a kicked dog, he asked, “Enjoy the party last week?”

Desmond blinked, “What I remember of it,” he admitted.

“What you remember?” Altair asked.

“I got _wasted_ ,” Desmond said, “I remember like… half of it. You had a lot of booze,” he said.

Altair leaned against the table now, halving the distance between them. “You have fun though? Ezio told me you were out on the deck with them for a while.”

“Uh… yeah, I was,” Desmond said, “after that though I got like… nothing,” he waved his hand, “Remind me never to go to your parties again. I get black out drunk and that isn’t as fun as it sounds.”

“Huh,” Altair said and licked his lips, in sudden thought, which distracted Desmond immensely.

Desmond’s phone started to vibrate, and Connor’s face and name showed up on the screen, he answered it quickly. “Hello?” he asked in a quiet voice, since he was still in the library. He really hoped it wasn’t Haytham. Connor’s dad had already looked near about to burst a blood vessel when Desmond had dropped Connor off at home. He wouldn’t put it past Haytham to call and yell at him, though it was two days past now.

“Hey,” it was Connor, and he sounded so damn nervous over the phone, “Desmond?” like it could be anyone but.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he snorted a short laugh and turned away from Altair. He tapped the chemistry book so Altair would finish his homework but didn’t see if he was doing it.

“You still at your tutoring thing?” Connor asked, and sounded like he’d rehearsed what he wanted to say. Desmond thought that was sort of weird, Connor normally didn’t have this much trouble over the phone.

“Yeah, its almost over though,” he glanced at Altair who was staring at his chemistry book hard enough to set it on fire. “Why? What’s up?”

“I wa-was wondering if you wanted to c-come over after you were done?” Connor asked.

Desmond grinned, “Sure,” he said, “I’d love to come over. Your dad isn’t home though right? I don’t think he likes me right now.”

“No, he’s not. He and mom went out for the day, and Aveline has a date so-

“So there’d be no one home?” Desmond supplied and Desmond heard something snap, he looked over at Altair. He’d just snapped the lead of his mechanical pencil and was looking in his backpack for more.

“Yeah, that’s cool right? I mean _technically_ I’m grounded until the end of the month but no one is home to enforce that.”

“Man Connor I didn’t even know you knew how to break the rules,” Desmond grinned.

“Sometimes,” Connor said, sounding more confidant now. “My mom has a Netflix account, we could stream something,” he said, and Desmond sort hoped there was a ‘and make out’ tag on there Connor wasn’t saying. Connor learning Desmond was gay had been a good thing. He didn’t know if Connor was himself, but it didn’t look like Connor did either. And Desmond wouldn’t mind being the experiment in this situation one bit. In fact he was sort of looking forward to it.

“Awesome, want me to bring popcorn? My mom practically lives on the stuff so we have like six boxes at home.”

“Sure. Though my parents will be home at like, seven, so you need to be gone before then. My dad would flip if he knew you were over. You’re a ‘bad influence’ on me. Or something.”

“Or something is right,” Desmond looked back over at Altair who was doing his work. “I’m almost done here so I’ll be there in like half an hour. Cool?”

“Cool,” and Desmond hung up.

“So do you need to go?” Altair asked, back to sounding angry, and glanced up from his work, “Also I thought we did this together?”

Desmond smiled nicely at him, “I can do the last few by myself,” he looked at what Altair had managed to do, “And you’re almost done.” Altair didn’t look amused. “Man, what the hell crawled up your ass and died?” he asked.

Altair scoffed, “Nothing— just… Its nothing. Just a bad day,” he ended in nearly a whisper and finished his homework in silence. 

Desmond frowned at him. “If you say so,” he shrugged.

“Done,” Altair said, finishing the last problem.

“Good,” and Desmond started to pack up. Altair shoved his things into his backpack and got up, since he had less things than Desmond. He lingered for a few seconds, which Desmond thought was weird and when he turned and looked at Altair questioningly Altair just turned and left. Weirdo. Hot weirdo he had a crush on, but a weirdo.

Once he was all packed he then had to go put his stuff away, he’d just do his chemistry homework during lunch, there were only like three problems, so he wasn’t worried. Then he headed home. Or rather he headed for Connor’s.

The door opened practically as soon as Desmond knocked, like Connor had been standing by it, waiting for him. He didn’t know if that was cute, or creepy. He decided on cute because Connor genuinely seemed happy to see him. “I brought popcorn,” he said, holding up a box. His mom wouldn’t miss it, and if she did she’d just go get more.

“Awesome,” Connor said and let Desmond inside. It looked nearly identical to his house in the way it was built, though everything on the inside was different. “I already started a movie, I hope that’s okay?”

“Yeah yeah,” Desmond waved him off and tugged off his jacket, stuffing as much as he could into his helmet. “What is it?”

“Master and Commander,” Connor said.

“Yeah? I’ve never seen that movie,” Desmond said, but he wasn’t a big movie guy past nerdy things. He’d rather play video games.

“Seriously? Its awesome,” and he took the box of popcorn from Desmond, “I’ll do this you go have a seat,” he was ordered.

Desmond went into the living room and sat on the couch, which was big and comfy. The Kenways had a big TV, and an Xbox, which was in use to stream Netflix. The Kenways all seemed like the type of people who had an Xbox just for Netflix too. He toed off his shoes and got comfortable. In the kitchen he could hear the popcorn popping, and he pulled out his phone.

‘I may or may not be over at Connor’s house, and I may or may not try to play two seats in the dark,’ he texted Clay.

‘Didn’t his dad say you were a bad influence on him?’

‘Which is exactly why.’

‘Also isn’t he grounded?’

‘No ones home.’

‘Yooooooooooooooo’ ‘give me the details later, got plans’

‘Weirdo’

‘Its why you like me <3’

Connor showed up with a big bowl of popcorn and set it next to Desmond, he sat on the other side of the bowl. “Why does your mom have so much popcorn?” he asked.

“She likes it,” he shrugged, “Healthier snack food than chips. So, Master and Commander?”

“Yeap,” and Connor grabbed the Xbox controller and navigated to the required screen to play the movie.

“And this is your favorite movie?” Desmond asked.

“One of them, yeah,” Connor nodded and then put his finger to his lips when the movie started. Desmond could appreciate that. Don’t talk over the movie. He dug his hand into the bowl and was content to munch popcorn while the movie played.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I can barely hear you guys over the silence


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year now stop bothering me about updates

Aveline got home before Connor’s parents did, clearly for an important reason since she opened the door carefully and dragged Malik inside. She clearly didn’t account for Desmond and Connor who both stared at her from the couch.

“Uh… Connor what are you doing here?” she asked.

Connor looked at Desmond, then back at his sister, “I live here,” he said.

“Aren’t you grounded?” she demanded.

“Aren’t you not supposed to bring boys over when dad isn’t home?” and he rose his brows, looking over Aveline’s shoulder at Malik.

“Yeah well you’re not supposed to have _anyone_ over,” she said.

“I won’t tell dad if you don’t,” Connor said.

Aveline eyed him a moment, “Deal,” she said and then pushed Malik towards her room. She pulled her phone out from her purse, “Smile for my followers,” she said and Desmond had time to look confused when the flash went off.

“Aveline,” Connor groaned.

“Bye bye,” she waved and then followed Malik to her room.

“What was that about?” Desmond asked.

“What was what about?”

“The picture?”

Connor rolled his eyes, “Aveline uses instagram to document her lolita and fuel her selfie lifestyle and has like… seven thousand followers or something. She likes putting pictures of me on there sometimes.”

“She has instagram?” Desmond had made an instagram account like a year ago and had promptly become bored with it and forgot it existed.

“Yeah.”

“Seven thousand followers?” Desmond asked again.

“…Yeah?”

“How does your sister have seven thousand followers?”

“Cause she’s a cute girl who posts pictures of herself in cute clothes?” Connor seemed very confused about why Desmond wasn’t understanding this, _clearly_ , simple concept. “Also lolita.” Desmond dug out his phone and went to the app store. “Are you seriously downloading instagram?” Connor asked.

“I want to see what your sister posts on it,” he said, “Also I was in that picture too,” and now he just left his phone to finish the download. “So what movie are we going to watch now?” he asked.

“Uh, I don’t know, you pick one,” and Connor handed Desmond the Xbox controller. Desmond started going through Netflix.

“Iron Man,” Desmond said and stopped on it.

“Never seen it-

“WHat?!” Desmond cried.

“I don’t really like super hero stuff,” Connor said.

Desmond stared at him, “We literally can’t be friends,” he said seriously. Connor snorted. “You’re watching it. At least tell me you’ve seen Lord of the Rings.”

“Yeah, they were okay-

Desmond made a pained shrieking noise and Connor laughed. “Everything okay out there?” Aveline called from her room.

“Your brother doesn’t like Lord of the Rings!” Desmond cried. Aveline laughed and closed her door again. “How do you not like Lord of the Rings?” he demanded.

“You mean Walking the Movie?” Connor asked.

“I literally can’t be near you oh my god,” and Desmond got up and went and sat on the armchair.

“Aww, c’mon Desmond,” Connor groaned.

“Nope,” and Desmond pressed play on Iron Man, “I can’t hang out with you till you’ve been properly educated about super hero movies, and watch Lord of the Rings, which is amazing by the way.”

Connor just rolled his eyes at Desmond and leaned back in the couch when the movie started playing. While the movie played instagram finished downloading and Desmond opened it to play around with it. He’d seen Iron Man over two dozen times, he didn’t really need to watch it to know what was going on. He fiddled with the app, figuring out how it worked sort of.

“What’s your sister’s instagram name?” Desmond asked, not looking at Connor.

“What?” Connor asked, Desmond repeated himself. “Black underscore lolita,” he said. “Why?”

“Because I’m following her,” he said and then started going through her timeline. The most recent picture wasn’t him and Connor like he’d thought, rather a picture of Malik’s face. He had to agree with the caption, ‘isn’t he cute?’ Aveline had excellent taste. Under that was the picture of him and Connor. “Do you ever look at your sister’s instagram?” he asked Connor.

“Not really, I see all her outfits in person,” Connor shrugged.

“Huh,” Desmond looked back down at his phone. Aveline was _way_ more perceptive than Connor was apparently because her caption for them was ‘Connor and his totally-not-boyfriend-friend Desmond.’ He thought it was appropriate. He looked through the rest of her timeline. Most of the images were of her, all dressed up, or of her face, or of cute things she wanted. Now and then friends would pop up on her timeline, and Connor too. He saw some pictures from the after finals party in there but not many. Mostly though it seemed to be Aveline’s way to chronicle her lolita and her many outfits. Apparently she had dozens of outfits, and they all gave Desmond cavities because even he thought they were super cute. Apparently he and seven thousand other people thought that too.

Desmond took a picture of Connor, startling him. “What are you doing?”

“You’re the first picture on my instagram,” Desmond said.

“Uhg, not you too,” Connor complained.

Desmond snickered and started playing with the filters. He didn’t like most of them, they were stupid or made things blurry or off color. There was one that lightened a picture though, he used that since it was sort of dark. Then he posted it. He didn’t expect anything from it, but now he’d done _something_ at least.

“Are you even watching the movie?” Connor asked.

Desmond looked at the screen, “How many languages do you speak? A lot. But apparently not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian. Who are these people? They are your loyal customers, sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings,” Desmond said, quoting along with the movie.

“Did you seriously just do that?” Connor asked.

“You know we might be more productive if you included me in the planning process,” Desmond said.

“Stop that it’s annoying,” Connor said.

Desmond grinned, “I know basically every line,” he said, “And I am watching it. I’m just looking at instagram too,” he grinned.

Connor sighed, “All right,” he huffed and Desmond looked back at his phone. It didn’t take him long to find the search feature and being him the first thing he searched was men.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“Thank god for instagram,” Desmond said to himself and quickly found the _good_ tags to search for cute boys. Desmond followed a dozen in about ten seconds.

“Desmond why are you making those faces?” Connor asked after a few minutes of scrolling through the tag, which pained him in all the best ways. So many cute boys in the world, and so many of them were willing to get shirtless or pants-less. He loved the social media age.

“Not not Connor there are cute boys on the internet,” he said.

“What?” and Connor got up and came to stare over Desmond’s shoulder. “… Why are you looking at this?”

“Because I’m gay and like cute boys?” now it was Desmond’s turn to act confused as to why Connor was being so stupid about such a simple concept.

“Yeah… well…” Connor made a face and Desmond wasn’t exactly sure what it meant.

“What?” Desmond asked. Connor just looked, annoyed honestly.

“Nothing,” Connor said and went to go sit back on the couch.

“Jealous I’m looking at cute boys?” because _that_ was interesting to him.

“No!” Connor said but by the flush on his cheeks he so was.

“Oh my god you so are,” Desmond couldn’t help but grin. “That’s so cute,” because Connor being jealous was like a kitten being jealous and wanting attention.

“Uh…”

“For the record, I think you’re pretty cute too,” and Connor flushed even _more_. “Also Aveline’s followers liked our picture, apparently we look good together,” he totally pulled that out of his ass, but Connor didn’t check Aveline’s timeline, he wouldn’t know.

Connor was about to say something when they both heard a car pull up in the driveway. “Uh-oh,” Connor said and they looked at each other with wide eyes. Connor lurched and grabbed Desmond’s hand, pulling him towards the back door. As they did Connor knocked on Aveline’s door, “Ava, dad’s home.”

“Shit!” they heard her cry from her room and then they were at the back door.

“Sorry,” Connor said, opening the door to the oppressive Florida winter.

“For what?” Desmond asked, “That was exciting. I’ve never had to sneak out the back of someone’s house before.”

“Connor?” Ziio called when the front door opened, “Aveline, we brought home dinner.”

“You should go,” Connor said.

“Yeah probably. I’ll see you at school,” he grinned and they both looked when the window to Aveline’s room opened. The screen was popped out and Malik slid out. The collar of his polo was popped, which wasn’t normal.

“Your dad sucks,” Malik told Aveline, who took the screen back.

“Yes he does,” and she gave him a kiss. “See you tomorrow,” and then she noticed Desmond and Connor.

“You’d be in more trouble than me,” Connor said before she could say anything.

“At least I get to kiss mine,” she stuck her tongue out at him and Connor turned _bright red_.

“See you later, Connor,” and Desmond knew he needed to leave. He and Malik went the same way around the house to the front where the Kenway car was parked, empty of its occupants.

“You and Connor dating?” Malik asked, giving him a side eyed look.

“Uh… no,” Desmond said awkwardly.

Malik just shrugged and headed down the street to his car. Desmond walked the other direction towards his house.


	44. Chapter 44

The next day, when Desmond arrived at school, he noticed Clay fucking _staring at him_. He had no idea why though. All he knew was that Clay was being weirder than usual, and giving him the dumbest fucking look. Desmond occupied himself by bothering Connor during health class, flicking paper footballs onto Connor’s table with quotes from Iron Man until the boy glared at him. Desmond just beamed at him and Connor turned redder than usual.

Clay gave him weird looks for that too.

Thankfully he didn’t have to see Clay until lunch. He started when one moment he was in line alone, the next Clay had fucking aparated next to him. “So… Was this a conscious decision or did you just forget?”

“Forget?” Desmond asked grabbing his lunch.

“Wow you seriously forgot. That’s amazing. This is literally one of the best days of my life, I need a moment to fully bask in your forgetfulness,” Clay said, also getting his own lunch.

“Going to clue me in on what I forgot?” Desmond asked as they waited in line for milk and to pay.

“That… isn’t your shirt,” Clay grinned at him widely.

“What?” he looked down, it was one of his button up shirts he wore to work. “It totally is one of my shirts,” he said, “All my Ts were dirty so I had to wear a work shirt.”

“No, it totally isn’t,” Clay said and grabbed them both chocolate milk. “That’s totally Voldemort’s shirt.”

“Volde- what? _WHat?_ ” and the kid in front of him looked over their shoulder at him wondering what Desmond’s condition was.

“Yeah, that’s totally the shirt you wore when I picked you up the first time. It doesn’t even fit you how did you think this was your shirt?” Clay poked his chest.

“Oh my god… I never gave it back,” Desmond squeaked, completely mortified. Now he knew why this shirt was clean; because he _never_ wore it. He made a point to never wear it. But he didn’t have any clean clothes this morning and so had thrown it on without thinking and now he was wearing _Altair’s shirt_.

“You idiot,” Clay laughed and then they were paying for their lunch.

“Oh god… and I have tutoring today,” Desmond was all at once anxious. Clay just snorted. “It isn’t funny!” Desmond cried and thankfully they were outside now.

“Sure it is. And how’d the thing with Connor go? You play two seats in the dark?”

“Nooo,” Desmond groaned, “Aveline came home and then I learned our friend doesn’t like superheros and-

“What? He doesn’t? Ew,” Clay said.

“Basically. I don’t think I can kiss someone who doesn’t like superheros,” Desmond said, only half serious. “Also I got an instagram,” he said as they came up to the others.

“You’re on instagram?” Rebecca asked.

“Yeah?”

“Holy shit give me your username, I’m going to follow you,” she said and whipped out her phone.

“You have one?” Desmond asked, “I never see you taking pictures though,” he frowned and sat between her and Lucy.

“I don’t really post, but I follow a lot of sports players,” she said.

Next to her Shaun sighed, “Rebecca like hockey players,” he said.

“What? Since when? Florida doesn’t even have a hockey team,” Desmond said.

“Yes they do! But they suck so it doesn’t matter,” Rebecca said, “Now really, instagram name.”

“Uh,” Desmond balanced his tray on his knee precariously as he dug around for his iPhone. “I’ve barely even used it,” he said.

“Yeah so?” Rebecca said as he brought up the app.

“DM, underscore,” Desmond said.

“Seriously? How’d you get that?”

“Uh… I picked it? I have no idea I just started,” Desmond said.

“Your first pic is Connor? Boring, take pictures of us,” Rebecca said cheerfully.

“This is weird, I actually do something that Rebecca does, its like an episode of the Twilight Zone,” Desmond said as he brought up his camera and took a picture of Rebecca hanging off of Shaun who _really_ looked like he just wanted to have his lunch in peace. “Look happy Shaun, seriously.”

“I’m British, Desmond, we aren’t allowed to look happy.”

“You nearly have Rebecca’s tits in your face, I think that negates that,” and only then did Shaun notice them and Desmond caught the image of Shaun’s sudden ‘oh look at that’ face. “Perfect,” he said.

“Uhg,” Rebecca groaned, “Boys just have to make everything gross,” and she sat back on the seat.

“What? I was just pointing them out. I don’t even like them,” Desmond shrugged and imported the image to instagram. He didn’t bother with filters again and just posted it. And then turned to look at Clay and Lucy.

Lucy was practically in Clay’s lap and she was sharing some of her lunch with him. Her step dad had brought her grocery store sushi and seaweed salad. “Desmond, really?” Lucy asked as he got them _just_ as Clay failed to get the seaweed all the way into his mouth and it flopped against his chin.

“Perfect,” Desmond snickered.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Desmond looked up when Connor joined them, just sitting on the ground in front of him.

“Just Instagram,” desmond shrugged.

“Yeah, my sister says that too,” Connor sighed.

“You sister has insta too?” Rebecca asked.

“Yeah.”

“What’s she post? Nudes?”

“ _No!_ ” Connor squeaked, looking mortified by the mere idea. “She posts her lolita and pink things and her boyfriend.”

“You sister has a boyfriend?” Lucy asked. “Since when?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Oh, so Malik _did_ give her a ride at that finals after party,” Rebecca said.

“ _Rebecca_ ,” Lucy scolded, Connor just looked confused. Rebecca giggled a little.

“Well, yeah, it is Malik, how did you know?” Connor asked.

“Because only boyfriends get that stupid look on their face when you walk by in a hot outfit like ‘yeah, I’m going to take that off to _night_ ,” Rebecca said, finding herself incredibly hilarious.

Desmond wasn’t the only one who sighed, but apparently Clay thought she was on the money because he leaned across his friends, basically across Desmond’s lap, to fist bump her. “I wanted to ask,” Lucy said abruptly, “Can we move club day?”

“Why?” Desmond asked.

“Because I have softball practice now. We meet every other day until full season starts, and it falls on club day.”

“Then yeah, sure. Why don’t we move it to the weekends?” Clay asked.

“I work weekends,” Desmond said.

“Wednesdays then?” Lucy asked. 

“I hate Wednesdays,” Desmond grumbled.

“Besides Desmond hating Wednesday, everyone cool with that?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, seems fine,” Clay said with a shrug. “Any other news to share or am I free to go do my thing?”

“Like anyone would dare get between you and your _thing_ ,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“Good,” and Clay hopped off the bench, grabbed his backpack and went off.

“What’s his thing?” Connor asked.

“His gossip wheel,” Desmond said rolling his eyes. “Don’t worry about and don’t take him up on it when he asks you if you want to bet one something, you’ll lose.”

“What?” Connor was just so confused.

“Just don’t,” Desmond advised him.

“Okay…” Connor said, frowning.

—

There was a weird air during tutoring. In chemistry, when Altair had come in, he’d seen Desmond and gotten this _look_ on his face. Not the same look Clay had been giving him up till lunch, but a look. Desmond had wanted to just crawl into his backpack and zip himself up. Now, as Altair worked, he kept… glancing up at Desmond. Just brief looks but Desmond noticed. And it was starting to stress him out and make him anxious.

“You got a problem?” Desmond asked him.

“Nothing,” Altair said, looking down at his work but Desmond could see his lips tugged into a bit of a smile. “You’re just… wearing my shirt,” and he found it amusing. Desmond flushed brightly and when Altair looked up and smirked at him he burned brighter.

“Not on purpose,” he said, thankfully not stammering.

“Looks good on you,” and Desmond hated him. He hated Altair _so much_ because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he was cute, and could be charming and flirty, and had an fantastic dick, and _perfect_ then… would be such a fucking prick. It was why he was so on board with being Connor’s experiment, because Connor wasn’t a prick. Connor also didn’t tongue tie him with a look and make all the butterflies that showed up when he was around Altair flutter into a storm only to just melt and sigh when Altair said something stupid or charming. He was fucking perfect and Desmond hated every atom of him.

“Kinda big,” Desmond said and tried not to think about the fact that he was wearing Altair’s shirt, not the first one no. But usually those were temporary and just in the morning when Altair sometimes made him breakfast and washed his clothes. He’d worn this shirt all damn day. “How the hell did you even know? It looks like a normal fucking shirt.”

“Too big on you, and you don’t wear red,” Desmond scowled at him, but it was true. Desmond wasn’t a red guy.

“What you notice what I wear?”

“I notice what cute guys wear yeah,” Altair seemed amused by Desmond’s sudden shocked face. “I mean, don’t you?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, he honestly didn’t usually pay attention. Desmond was basically the worst example of a gay guy ever. “I didn’t peg you as a guy who cared what someone else wore.”

“Fair enough. I’m usually more interested in taking those clothes off anyway,” and the hair on the back of his neck stood up on end. “I ever going to get my shirt back or are you just going to keep it?”

“You can have it back— not right now though. I think the librarian wouldn’t appreciate me stripping in her library.” And while Altair didn’t say it his eyes and that smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth said he’d appreciate it. Desmond hated him _so much_. Altair was so fucking confident and sure of himself and knew just how to twist Desmond around his fingers and make him enjoy it. It was so fucking hot too. It made Connor’s stammering, flustered, puppy crush, seem flimsy and ill constructed. Altair knew what he liked and even if he didn’t _like_ Desmond, he liked Desmond’s body and liked making it feel good.

“You should come over. I could give you your shirt back,” he said.

“My shirt- oh, right.” Obviously. If Desmond had Altair’s shirt of course he had Desmond’s shirt.

“Uh… okay,” he nearly stammered there. “How come I didn’t know you had a pool till the party?” he suddenly asked.

“… What?” Altair asked, giving him a look.

“I’ve been over your house like a dozen times. I didn’t even know you had a back deck.”

“I have a boat and dock too,” Altair said.

“You do- how have I been there twelve times and never seen it?”

“I don’t know. You ever look outside? Not like there aren’t windows everywhere.” Desmond opened and closed his mouth a few times, but had no come back to that. “Too distracted by me?”

Desmond drew back and scowled at him, stupid flirty asshole. “Yeah, totally you and not your giant mansion house,” Desmond said, rolling his eyes.

“So is that a yes?” Altair asked.

Desmond didn’t want to say yes. But he _did_ want his shirt back. He didn’t remember what the shirt looked like. But he knew he wanted it back. “Yeah, I want my shirt back.”

—

He probably should have been more awkward about this. Sitting on Altair’s bed while Altair looked through his dresser for Desmond’s shirt. Desmond looked around while he waited, it looked the same as the last time he’d seen it. Wall scrolls, yellow walls and ceiling, ceiling fan, two windows on either side of the bed, the rope lights in the headboard. Every time Desmond looked at the bed he could see himself on it, naked. Fuck how many times had he been laid out on it? Enough times honestly.

“Ah, found it,” Altair said and tugged a shirt from the drawer.

“Finally,” Desmond huffed.

“I have a lot of clothes,” Altair shrugged and handed it to him.

Desmond took it and then stood up, then he turned his back to Altair and started to unbutton the shirt. He didn’t know why he was bothering, Altair had seen him naked and then some. But just a small measure of control in this situation was enough for him, since he was in Altair’s court here, in his house. He changed shirts quickly, yanking his T-shirt, which was washed and smelled clean, on over his head.

“The hell… you stretched it out,” he turned around to Altair, the neck of his shirt was stretched out, the shoulders had been too. It didn’t fit him anymore.

Altair shrugged, “I only wore it once. It was too tight.”

“Yeah and now its too loose uuuuhg,” he looked down at his shirt, “I liked this shirt too,” he muttered to himself.

“Well then just take it off if you’re upset about it,” Altair said.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Desmond asked, and was suddenly aware that Altair was very close to him. They were nearly touching.

“I wouldn’t be adverse to it,” Altair admitted and he felt the tips of Altair’s fingers brush against the hem of his shirt and briefly against the skin of his stomach. It made his heart do a summersault. “Wouldn’t be the first time I convinced you to stay either,” he said and fuck why did this guy make him so weak kneed? Desmond honestly was about to _swoon_. He hated this guy so fucking much.

“Yeah well-“ he didn’t get the rest out because Altair’s mouth brushed against his and he forgot how to talk. It was barely a kiss but it made Desmond’s stomach drop out and fuck he wanted Altair to kiss him _so_ badly. His eyes lidded and Altair ran his hand up under his shirt, across his flank following the curve of his body to the small of his back.

He closed his eyes and sighed when his phone started ringing. Abruptly he turned away, breaking up whatever they’d been doing, or _about_ to do, and fished his phone from his pocket. He didn’t look at the caller ID before picking up. “Hello?” he asked.

“Desmond?” Connor asked.

“Yeah. Con what is it?” he didn’t mean to sound harsh, but Connor had literally _just_ interrupted.

“Oh uh… my dad’s not going to be home till late and my mom said since I’d been so good I could have a friend over for dinner. So I wanted to know if you wanted to come over?”

Desmond sighed and ran his hand through his hair, tugging it absently. “Yeah. Yeah I’d love to come over for dinner,” he said.

“Okay. You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine I just… nothing. Its fine, sorry for snapping.”

“Its okay. We’re doing tacos and nachos for dinner, kinda early-

“Okay. I’ll be there in a little bit.”

“Okay!” and Desmond smiled helplessly with how excited Connor sounded. “Also I told my mom you were teaching me how to ride a motorcycle. She wants to grill you.”

“Fantastic,” Desmond groaned and rubbed his mouth, Connor just laughed. “I’ll see you in a bit,” and hung up. He sighed turned back to Altair, “I have to go,” he said.

“Right,” Altair said, suddenly like a pin cushion, his body language hostile and closed off, his voice sharp and hard. “You know where the door is,” and frankly Desmond didn’t exactly blame him for his sudden attitude change. He had just blown him off rather spectacularly.

“I’ll… see you tomorrow,” he said and then saw himself out.


	45. Chapter 45

When Desmond knocked on the door of Connor’s house he was met with possibly the last face he was expecting. “What are you doing here?” he asked Malik.

“I was invited,” he said, “Connor,” he called and stepped out of the way. Desmond stepped inside and a moment later Connor showed up, his hair all over the place. Malik gave Desmond a look and then left the two of them. Desmond closed the door.

“Con, the reason you got your hair cut is so it _wouldn’t_ be in your eyes,” Desmond sighed at him.

“Yeah yeah I don’t like having it up when I lay down,” Connor said and ran his fingers through it, pushing it back and putting it into a ponytail.

“What’s he doing here?” he asked, meaning Malik.

“Aveline told our mom she had a boyfriend so Ziio said to invite him for dinner. And since dad isn’t home…”

“Perfect opportunity,” and Connor nodded. “So, tacos and nachos?”

“Yeah, though mom forgot something at the store so she had to go run and get it.”

“What’d she forget?” Desmond asked as he followed Connor into the house and into his room. Aveline’s door was closed.

“The meat,” Connor sighed, “She bought everything else, except like the most important part,” and Desmond snickered. “So we just have to wait till she gets back from the store,” he flopped onto his bed.

Connor’s room was a far cry from Altair’s. The walls were still regulation white and there were boxes everywhere still like Connor hadn’t bothered to fully unpack. His walls were plastered with posters of animals and nature, his ceiling fan creaked horribly too. He had a bed, unmade, and a desk, full of clutter and pens and no real room to even actually work on the desk, and a dresser, the top of which had a few things on it but was the only clear space in the room other than the floor. There wasn’t really anywhere to sit so Desmond just sat on the bed next to Connor since his desk chair had things on it too.

“Going to unpack any time soon or what?” Desmond asked him.

“Eeeehg,” Connor said, making a face. “I hate unpacking almost as much as packing.”

“I feel ya, but it’s been a month,” and Desmond laid back on Connor’s bed. “Feels good once you’re unpacked,” he added.

“I know, I just haven’t,” Connor sighed. “How was tutoring?”

Desmond’s mouth went thin, “Fine,” he said. “Altair’s still stupid as hell about chemistry though,” he sighed.

“Not an easy subject,” Connor said.

“I guess,” Desmond shrugged, “I’m still passing.”

“Could you tutor me?” Connor asked.

Desmond looked over him, “With what?”

“Science. I’m not… very good at it, and you’re two years ahead of me so I figure you’d be able to help,” Connor said hopefully.

“I dunno,” Desmond said, “I mean I got tutoring with Altair on Mondays and Wednesdays, club is on Thursdays now, I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I only really have Tuesday open.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff,” Connor said. ”And I’m cool with Tuesdays. You can come over, since I doubt I’ll be allowed to leave the house till next quarter, and help me with my science,” he smiled a little.

“I guess,” Desmond said, “I don’t think that’d be too much of a problem. Please tell me you know your vocab though?” Connor nodded, “Thank _god!_ Altair is awful with vocab I want to fucking strangle him sometimes,” and Connor snorted. “So, your mom’s at the store, what are we gonna do till she gets back?”

“I dunno. Not much fun at my house,” Connor shrugged, “My dad changed the password for my Xbox account too, when he found me using it. So… no more Xbox.”

“Your dad’s a hard ass,” Desmond said, “More than mine even.”

“He’ll ease up in a week or two, maybe… hopefully. He goes hard for a while but always eases up. But I had three strikes so I got grounded.”

“Three?”

“Yeah, the party, the hair, and then back in Washington I stayed at one of the reservations all night without telling anyone. He was so mad I did that. To be fair I scared both my parents, they thought I’d run away, or been kidnapped or something.”

“Dang Connor, you’re a regular rebel aren’t you?” Connor just shrugged, but seemed pleased. “Kinda hot,” he added and Connor stiffened and flushed. “You know you can tell me if you like me,” he said. 

“Uhm, well—

“I mean I’m coming on pretty strong here, give me a bone.”

Connor was bright red and it was so cute. Desmond didn’t realize how nice it was to have someone into you on a sort of innocent level. “YeahIkindalikeyou,” Connor said.

Desmond grinned and sat up, “Not so hard huh?” he asked.

“Do you like me?” Connor asked shyly.

“Yeah,” he said, he could dig it. He didn’t know where Connor rated on the Kinsey scale, but if it was in the ‘down for making out with dudes’ part of it, then Desmond could get behind that. “Even more so since your haircut, mohawks are hot, you should spike it at some point, see what it looks like.”

“I think my dad would have a heart attack if I did that.”

“Eh, he’ll get better,” Desmond said. “You’re too cute to let your dad tell you what to do,” and Connor flushed again. Desmond just grinned and then leaned over and kissed Connor on the cheek. Connor kinda perked up and his back straightened in a kinda ‘oh he did a thing’ sort of way.

“Uh- uhm-“ Connor said, though seemed too shy to say whatever he was trying to spit out.

“What?” Desmond asked.

“I’veneverbeenkissedbefore, canIkissyou?” Connor blurted out.

“Sure you can,” Desmond said and moved the few inches to press a closed mouth kiss against Connor’s lips. Connor stiffened for a second and then relaxed. “Just like that,” Desmond said after it and Connor clearly didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Connor, Aveline, I’m home,” Ziio suddenly called from the front of the house. “Aveline open your door,” she added.

“Moooom!” they heard Aveline yell back, through the door.

Ziio walked past Connor’s room, “Ah, hello Desmond,” she said.

“Hi Ms. Kenway,” Desmond said cheerfully.

“Ziio,” she said.

“Right,” he said as she walked past to Aveline’s room.

“Aveline, door open,” and they heard her try the knob. “ _Aveline_ ,” she said and then started talking in some language Desmond didn’t know. Connor looked mortified.

“Mom!” the door was ripped open, “Oh my god I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Well don’t make me repeat it in English. Now, door stays open when you have a boy over.”

“But _mom_ ,” she complained.

“Your brother has Desmond over with the door open.”

“Connor’s also a pussy-

“Hey!” Connor yelled, getting off of bed and going to look out the door. Desmond just stayed where he was, amused with just listening to what was going on. The following conversation between Connor and Aveline was only half in English, the rest in the language Ziio had spoken in before. Typical sibling argument honestly.

“Okay okay, _enough_ you two,” Ziio finally said and pushed Connor back into his room, and assumedly Aveline back into hers. “Cool down and I’m going to start dinner. When you’re not so heated come help me make the nachos. Doors stay _open_.”

“Yes mom,” they both whined.

“Good. Desmond, Malik, feel free to ditch these two children if you feel the need,” and then she left and he could hear her doing stuff in the kitchen.

Connor groaned and threw himself onto his bed. “Do I wanna know?” Desmond asked.

“No,” Connor said intro his mattress.

“Okay. What language was that?” he asked.

“Kanien’kéha,” Connor said.

“Come again?”

“Kanien’kéha, Iroquoian Mohawk.”

“Oh, _oh_ , that makes so much more sense now,” Desmond said. “Duh,” he smacked his forehead. Of course two Mohawk kids would know Mohawk. Connor snorted. “What? Just cause I’m good at science doesn’t mean I’m smart _all_ the time, okay?”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

“Also, I’m hungry. Lets go help your mom.”

“Okaaay,” Connor groaned and pushed himself up. Desmond hopped off the bed and they headed for the kitchen where Desmond could hear beef sizzling in a frying pan.


	46. Chapter 46

When Desmond got to school the next day and met his friends before the first bell Connor was doing his damnedest to pretend that he wasn’t looking at him, but he was. Aveline was hanging around too, looking cute as hell as usual. Her novelty to most of the school had already worn off and most people didn’t even look at her in her cute lolita anymore. She was sitting with her brother waiting for the bell, or Malik, one or the other.

Aveline grinned when she saw him, “Hey Des,” she said.

“Hey Aveline,” he said, “Hey guys,” and with a tired sigh, it was only morning and he was already tired, he sat down next to Connor and leaned against him. “I’m sleepy,” he said, putting his head on Connor’s shoulder and closing his eyes.

“Well class starts in, like, ten minutes,” Lucy said, “So I’d suggest waking up.”

“I don’t wanna,” Desmond complained and nuzzled against Connor’s shoulder like it was a pillow. Lucy laughed a little. Desmond dozed on Connor’s shoulder and didn’t miss or mind when Connor ran his fingers across the top of Desmond’s hand. “Clay here yet?” Desmond asked after a few minutes had passed, his friends talking around him.

“He’s not coming to school today,” Lucy said.

Desmond opened his eyes and looked at her, “Why not? He sick?”

“Uh-“ Lucy frowned. She made a subtle head motion and got up, Desmond followed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I didn’t wanna bring it up in front of Connor and Aveline,” Lucy said, shrugging and now Desmond knew it had to do with Clay’s dad. Clay didn’t talk about his home-life much, and Shaun and Rebecca didn’t know much about it. Desmond and Lucy only really knew because they were closest to him, and Lucy had known Clay since he was in middle school.

“So?” Desmond asked, “Harold do something?”

“I got a text from Clay this morning saying his dad said he couldn’t go to school.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged.

“You call him?”

“I didn’t want to… in case-

“Yeah, I got it,” he nodded.

“He said he had to hide his phone too since his dad was acting weird.”

“Well yeah. Any idea why?”

Lucy licked her lips, “I think today’s the anniversary of when his mom died,” she said. Desmond felt the blood rush out of his face.

“Shit,” Desmond said.

“So that might be the reason. He’s not coming to school today though he said. He’d call us if anything happened.”

“Or call the fucking police,” Desmond said, “today sounds like a day Harold’s going to get wasted.”

“Yeah. But Clay’s safe in his room,” Lucy said. Desmond nodded. The bell rang. “And there’s the bell.”

“I’ll see you at lunch,” he said.

“Did you do the reading?” she asked.

Desmond froze, “…No,” he admitted.

“Desmond!” she cried.

“I gotta go to class, bye!” and he hopped back to where his other friends were and grabbed his backpack. “Hey Con, lets get to class.”

“Desmond I’m not going to fail because of you,” Lucy called, coming up to them.

Desmond grinned at Connor and then grabbed him by the wrist, “Bye guys!” and dragged Connor to their health class.

—

Desmond was at home, setting up for club when he got a text message. He frowned and picked it up and his brows went up when he saw who it was front. It was from Altair.

‘Where are you?’

His heart did a summersault. ‘Wat? :V’

‘Where are you? I’ve been waiting in the library for like twenty minutes.’

“Shit,” Desmond said. He’d neglected to tell Altair that tutoring days had been changed because club day had changed. He stopped setting up and sat down to answer this. ‘Sorry, I forgot to tell you, no tutoring today’

‘Perfect.’

‘I said sorry okay! I just forgot’

‘Why?’

‘?’

‘Why aren’t you here today?’ and for some reason Desmond read that as kinda hurt, like Altair might have been looking forward to it. Total flight of fancy, but he couldn’t help it.

‘Club day changed from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. So we’ll have tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, okay?’

‘I guess. What club are you in?’

Desmond stared at the big white board and D&D miniatures and all his D&D books and their folder with their character sheets. _No way_ he could tell Altair he played Dungeons and Dragons. No way. He already was a nobody in school and anyone who knew of him knew he was a nerd. He didn’t need to be that loser nerd who played D &D too. So what the hell did he tell Altair?

There was a knock on his door, startling him. Right, his friends were coming over. He hopped to his feet, leaving his phone behind, and got the door. It was Aveline and Connor. “We’re not early, right?” Aveline asked.

“Nope, you’re fine,” Desmond said, smiling and let them in.

“Also I told my boyfriend what I was doing, he wanted to come,” Aveline said.

Desmond stared, “He did?” he asked as he closed the door. The mental image of _Malik_ playing D &D was surreal to him.

“Yeah I told him no though. I didn’t know if you were okay with it.”

“Well, the more people there are the longer it takes and the harder it is to control. So it just depends,” Desmond shrugged.

“Well if you say its okay he can come next time?” Aveline asked.

“Uh… we’ll see,” Desmond said, “I need to ask Shaun since he DMs too and if we want more players since its harder on us when there are a lot of people.”

“That’s fair,” Aveline said and sat at the table with Connor. She instantly pulled out her phone to text something. Desmond went back into his room to grab the last few books, his big bag of dice, and the white board markers. Lucy was there when he got back. “I just let her in,” Aveline said as explanation.

“Thanks,” Desmond said, “Clay coming?” he asked Lucy.

“I haven’t heard from him all day. I doubt it,” Lucy said.

“Too bad,” he frowned.

“So Clay’s sick?” Connor asked.

“Yeah,” Desmond said, “Or faking it. He’ll probably be fine tomorrow,” and he handed the character sheet folder to Connor to find his character. He looked down at his phone and saw he had a few more texts.

‘Ur mother and i are going up to BP to visit friends tonight. B home late. Dont destroy house.’

“My dad is the worst texter ever,” Desmond groaned. His friends laughed a little at that. “And he’s got an iPhone too! Like what is even his damage?” he looked at his other texts.

‘Who’s in club with you?’ Altair had asked, ‘And where is it in school. At least I can come bother you for canceling on tutoring >C’

“Idiot,” Desmond muttered. ‘Club is at my house. So no, you can’t. And its with my friends. You’ll live and I’ll be at tutoring tomorrow.’ He finished just as the front door opened.

“Hello everyone, are we late?” Rebecca asked widely as she and Shaun just… walked into his house.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Desmond asked with a sigh as they sat down.

“Knocking’s for squares. Also we brought booty, check it,” and Rebecca pulled a bottle of Coke from her backpack and a giant bag of gummy worms. Then she pulled out one of the smaller sized bottles of Captain Morgan.

“If you roll under a certain number, you have to take a shot,” Shaun said, with an evil smile.

“You’re _kidding_ ,” Lucy complained.

“Nope!” and he actually laughed. Rebecca seemed so pleased with herself.

“Where’d you get a bottle of rum?” Desmond demanded.

“My big sis is visiting for a few days. She bought it for me cause she likes to corrupt the minds of children,” Rebecca said brightly.

“Your sister’s awesome,” Desmond said.

Everyone got their character, Shaun drew out the map. “Okay you’re all starting here,” he pointed at a square that was a tavern, “Everyone roll for drunkenness.” They rolled. “Desmond, Connor, Rebecca, take a shot, your characters have minus-one to all skill checks.”

“Uuuuhg,” Lucy complained even as she took her shot. Desmond’s phone rang. “Desmond, turn it off before we start so it isn’t like last time,” she scolded him.

“Sorry sorry,” he fumbled with his phone as someone put a cup in front of him. ‘So that means I can’t come?’ Altair asked and Desmond was too distracted by downing the rum that he just wrote ‘no’ and turned his phone on silent. He had shit to do and Shaun had his ‘you’re hunting dragons’ face on. He needed to be with it, especially since he was probably going to be intoxicated before too long.


	47. Chapter 47

When the last bell rang Desmond was out of his seat in seconds. He wanted to go, get tutoring over with, and then get home. He was still showing Connor how to ride a motorcycle and today they were going to practice, they hadn’t in a while because Desmond was busy but he was making time today. He was surprised when Connor found him at his locker.

“So,” Connor said, leaning against the locker, “You’ll be there right?”

“Yeah, I said I would didn’t I?” Desmond gave him a look.

“Well the last time you forgot and were late,” Connor made a face.

“That was a complete accidents I slept in. I got an hour of tutoring with Altair and then I’ll be over there, okay?”

“Promise?”

Desmond looked at him, “Yeah Connor,” he said, “I promise.”

“Okay,” and Connor smiled at him. Then to Desmond’s complete surprise kissed him on the cheek before darting away to catch the bus before it left. Desmond stared after him, his books half out of his locker and about to crash onto his foot. Connor had just kissed him. Usually Desmond was the one who did the kissing, even just little cheek kisses. He felt kinda warm cause he was basically totally corrupting Connor and it was _fantastic_.

He grabbed the rest of his books and notebook he’d need and went to the library to meet Altair. He was surprised when Altair was waiting for him outside of the library.

“What’s up?” Desmond asked.

“There’s some guys at our usual spot and the tables of filled with the chess club. There’s no room,” Altair said. Desmond frowned.

“The cafeteria then?”

“That place is really loud and there will be people in there for a while,” Altair said, and Desmond knew Altair wasn’t wrong. It was the same story for the tables out under the pavilion where kids hung out instead of going home or just leaving.

“I don’t know then, where should we go? We need permission to be in classrooms.”

“You could come over,” Altair said, “Just my grandpa is there.”

Desmond eyed him a second, “Is this some grand scheme to get into my pants?” he asked.

Altair looked him over a second, “I wouldn’t have to try this hard to get into your pants.” Desmond’s mouth fell open at that, Altair had just called him _easy_. “And it’ll be quiet,” he said, “unless you have a better idea?”

Desmond puffed out his cheeks, he didn’t really want to, but it was his fault they now didn’t have a place to study because he’d moved the days they studied to Tuesday and Thursday instead of Monday and Wednesday. And he didn’t want to have Altair come over to his house either. There would just be something wrong about a hot guy like Altair in Desmond’s plain house. Also for some reason he didn’t want Altair to know where he lived. “Fine,” he said. “I really really can’t stay more than an hour though, I’m meeting Connor for a thing.”

“What thing?” Altair asked and they both headed for the parking lot. Desmond pulled his backpack around front and shoved his books into it since he couldn’t carry books and ride. He needed to invest in some saddle bags at some point.

“Eh?” he asked, he hadn’t been paying attention.

“What thing are you going to do?” Altair asked.

“I’m showing Connor how to ride a motorcycle,” Desmond said, distracted.

“ _Your_ motorcycle?” Altair asked.

Desmond looked over at him, “Well Connor doesn’t exactly have one now does he?”

Altair shrugged, “I guess. I’ll see you at my place,” and Altair turned and went to his car. He had a nice car, it a Mercedes and bright red and new and Desmond had been in it _once_ , but he’d been too busy floating to pay attention to it and then Altair had jammed his hand down his pants and-

He shook his head as Altair backed out of the parking space. So not the right time to think about that. Desmond headed for his bike in the back of the parking lot and got on and headed for Altair’s place.

—

He was behind Altair enough to have to knock on the door when he got there. Altair answered the door and was greeted to the sound of things frying and the heavy tang of sauteing onions in the air. He blinked to try and get his eyes to not water. “Are you cooking already?” he asked.

“No, that’s my grandpa,” he said.

“Altair, who’s that?” a man called.

“My tutor, _Giddo_ ,” Altair called back and let Desmond in. A man appeared from the kitchen. He was old, really old but stood straight and had a short, but well kept white beard, and a full head of white hair he wore in a pony tail. He wore white chef’s jacket and a pair of… hammer pants.

“Hello,” the older man said, “Who’re you?”

“Uh… Desmond Miles… sir?” because he remembered that Altair had told him his grandfather was a Vietnam vet.

Then he smiled, “Hello Desmond, I’m Rashid. You teaching my stupid grandson something interesting?”

“ _Giddo!_ ” Altair cried.

Desmond tried not to snicker, “Chemistry, sir,” he said.

“Will you be staying for dinner?”

“Uh… no, sorry, I can’t. I’m only staying for an hour.”

“Ah, really?” Rashid gave Altair a look but Desmond didn’t know what it meant, Altair just rolled his eyes.

“We’ll be in my room, out of this gross onion smell.”

“Aye, respect your grandfather, boy,” Rashid scolded him. Altair wasn’t impressed and dragged Desmond to his room. He muttered to himself in Arabic.

“Your grandpa’s cool,” Desmond said. Altair gave him a similar look he’d given Rashid. “So we going to study on the floor? Your bed?”

“Let me get another chair,” Altair said and left again. Desmond then went over to the desk and sat down. It was clean and tidy and smelled freshly wiped down with something lemony. Altair came back a moment later and Desmond moved over so Altair could fit the other chair at the big desk.

Desmond pulled out the book and notebook he’d need. “So, ready to do the homework?”

Altair sighed, “I guess,” though he seemed more uninterested in it than usual.

“Good,” Desmond put the book down in front of Altair, “We’ll do the homework, then some vocab. If time allows I come up with something else for you to do,” Desmond grinned at him.

“You like tormenting me don’t you?”

“Perks of being your tutor,” Desmond said cheekily. Altair just gave him an unamused look. “Go on, you got homework,” he said, directing Altair to their chemistry.

—

After a painful bout of vocab Desmond was ready to call it quits. But he had told Altair he’d be here an hour, a whole hour. “So now what?” Altair asked him.

“Back of the book,” Desmond said. Altair groaned. “Hey, you need the practice,” and Altair looked a second away from snapping at him, but he didn’t. Instead he opened the chemistry book to the back.

“I don’t wanna,” Altair complained.

“Yeah? So? What’d you rather do then?” Desmond challenged.

He wasn’t expecting Altair’s answer, which was to suddenly kiss him. Desmond mentally flailed for a second before kissing him back and then he felt Altair’s hands in his hair and under his shirt and it was _fantastic_.

Desmond, quite honestly, lost track of time after that. He was just kissing Altair and didn’t want to stop doing that and he was all for just making out, and didn’t need anything to come of it. He just enjoyed the feeling of Altair’s mouth on his and Altair’s hands in his hair and his own around Altair’s neck. At some point Altair had moved to straddle one leg, but he honestly couldn’t remember when that had happened. But there he was.

“Fuck,” Desmond muttered when his phone started to ring. “Just a sec.”

“No,” Altair said, grabbing his hands and kept kissing him. His phone rang and then stopped ringing and Desmond forgot about it. 

It was quiet for a bit and then his phone started ringing _again_. “Altair, stop. It could be my parents,” and only that made Altair let his hands go. He didn’t stop though and was kissing up against Desmond’s neck and jaw. He didn’t recognize the number, “Hello?” he asked.

“Desmond?” Connor asked.

“Uh-

“It’s almost five,” Connor said.

“Fuck,” Desmond said.

“You’re still coming right?” They’d decided to just drive around the area this time, since it was fairly open. Desmond was momentarily distracted by Altair kissing him on the neck, under his ear and he didn’t realize how much he liked that till just then. “Desmond?” Connor asked.

“Yeah… shit sorry. Sorry I’ll be there in a few minutes. Okay?”

Connor sighed, “Really?”

“Yeah, really. I was just… just working,” and he finally pushed Altair’s face off his neck before the bastard gave him a hickey.

“Okay. I’m at your place actually,” Connor said.

“Who’s phone are you on?”

“Aveline’s,” he said.

“Okay I’ll be there as quick as I can. Bye,” and he hung up. “Okay, you,” he gave Altair a stern look, “What was that about?”

“What do you think it was about?” Altair asked raising his brows.

“I need to go,” Desmond said.

“Really?” Altair asked dully.

“Yes. I don’t have all day to spend making out with guys. I’m a busy guy, I got shit to do and other homework to do too,” Desmond scowled at him. Altair rolled his eyes but did get off Desmond’s thigh. He checked his phone. It wasn’t just almost five, it was _after_ five. He groaned. “Why do you always make me late?” he demanded of Altair and rapidly got his stuff together. Altair muttered to himself in Spanish and Desmond was only half paying attention but it sounded kinda like ‘so he’ll take a hint’.

“Do the rest of those problems I told you to do. I’ll look at them in class. Now I _really_ have to go,” and shouldered his back pack and left to Altair’s slightly forlorn ‘bye’.

As he was leaving Rashid stuck his head into the living room, “Not staying?” he asked.

“Ah, no, sorry, I’m actually late for something. Thanks though,” Desmond gave Rashid a little wave and walked out the door to his bike. He yanked on his helmet and jacket and headed for home.

—

Connor was waiting in front of his front door when he pulled up. “Sorry!” was the first thing he said when he turned off his bike. Connor frowned at him. “Really I’m _so_ sorry. I just-

“Just?” Connor asked when Desmond didn’t have a perfect excuse.

No way he was going to tell Connor he’d been making out with Altair. “I turned my phone on vibrate and forgot about it until you started calling me,” he said. “I really didn’t mean to be late and uhg I was late twice in a row this sets a _fantastic_ precedent doesn’t it?” he hung his head a bit.

“Its okay,” Connor said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Connor nodded.

“So… aren’t you grounded?”

“Didn’t we agree I’m ‘sort of rebel’?” Connor asked with a grin.

“Your parents don’t know you’re here?”

“Nope. Mom and dad went out for the night, its date night on Thursday. I told Aveline if she didn’t tell them I came here to learn how to ride a motorcycle with you that I wouldn’t tell them she brought Malik over again.”

“Your sister sure it pushing her boyfriend’s luck,” Desmond said.

“As she puts it she ‘likes to live dangerously’,” and Desmond laughed at that. “So, we gonna do this?”

“Hell yeah,” and Desmond shoved his helmet onto Connor’s head. “Now, you remember what we did last time?” Connor nodded, “Okay, we’re gonna do that again.”

“Okay,” and Connor got on the bike. “Hey Desmond,” he said.

“Yeah?” Desmond asked, standing next to him.

Connor looked hesitant for a second, “Thanks,” he said.

For what?” Desmond asked, a bit confused.

“… For everything, really,” and then to his great surprise Connor tugged him down a few inches to kiss him, on the mouth. Desmond didn’t know how to respond to that at first before kissing him back. It was a one eighty from the guy he _had_ been kissing not ten minutes ago. Altair was experienced and knew what he was doing but Connor was trying _so_ damn hard to not suck that Desmond gave him points for that at the very least.

Connor was very careful of what his mouth was doing to not drool or suck on Desmond’s face or shove his tongue down his throat, and Desmond could appreciate that. Desmond held either side of Connor’s face, kissing him for a good minute before stopping. He sighed and he wasn’t sure quite what it sounded like, but Connor was smiling. “So- uh…” Desmond said, at a complete loss for words and let go of Connor’s face. “Right lets see if everything we did last time didn’t leak out of your ears.”

Connor chuckled a little, “Okay,” he said and reached down and turned the engine on.


	48. Chapter 48

Desmond was on his way to lunch, he’d just come down from the stairs and was headed for the cafeteria, when he ran into someone. He hadn’t been paying attention, as he was trying to get his back pack zipped up after his hasty retreat out of class to get to lunch before the line got painfully long. So he ran into them quite bodily. “Oh, I’m sorry I was just-“

Altair glared at him, he’d _run into_ Altair. Normally Altair didn’t glare at him too hard, just a more annoyed ‘I can’t believe I’m in your area’, sort of glare. This time though it was angry. Then to his surprise Altair grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him towards the library, but not into it. Rather Altair pulled him into one of the two bathrooms in the entire school (why there were only two bathrooms in the school Desmond had never figured out despite going there for three years) and shoved him against one of the super gross walls.

“What is your problem?” Altair demanded.

“M- _My_ problem!” Desmond cried, “What’s _your_ problem? You just dragged me in here like a bad high school jock cliche.”

“You were kissing Connor,” Altair said.

“Wha- First off,” Desmond snapped and shoved Altair, “How did you even know that? And two, I can kiss whoever the fuck I want, perks of being single. _Including_ Connor, so what the hell is it to you?”

Altair scowled at him, “I don’t want you kissing Connor.”

“Well _too bad_ ,” Desmond scowled right back. “I can kiss whoever the fuck I want, without your permission.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Too bad,” Desmond said, “You’re not my boyfriend, I just sometimes fuck you, you don’t get to tell me what I’m allowed to do.” Altair stared at him for a second. “Don’t tell me you’re surprised,” Desmond said, angrily.

“I’m just surprised you’re _so stupid_!” Altair cried and put his hands on his head, clearly exasperated with Desmond. The late bell rang, and it was horrifically loud in the bathroom, Desmond did his best not to grimace. “Or that oblivious.”

“What?”

Altair rubbed his face, all the anger leeched out of him and now he just looked _frustrated_. Desmond didn’t understand why though. What the hell was this guy’s problem? “You’re dumb,” he told Desmond blandly.

“Then please, _educate me_ ,” Desmond was still sort of mad at him for dragging him in here and being fucking weird and hostile. “What the hell is your damage?”

“You’re really this oblivious?” Altair asked and even though Desmond was about to say something his mouth slammed closed when Altair said, though, “I like you.”

Desmond felt like his stomach had just fallen out of his gut. “You what?” he squeaked.

“I like you,” the second time Altair said it he didn’t sound so hesitant to downright nervous about it. Like he’d said it once and it was out there so there was no reason to hide it.

Desmond’s mouth opened and closed a few times, staring at Altair. “You like me?” he asked, after a second Altair nodded. With that information a _lot_ of things started to make sense. Like why Altair bothered him in chemistry more, why he’d texted him on New Years, why he even bothered getting Desmond’s number in the first place. He remembered telling Duncan though, and Clay, that Altair didn’t like him. That he _didn’t_ like Desmond. And then here they were. If they hadn’t been in the gross boy’s bathroom Desmond would have needed to sit down because he didn’t know how to handle that information, that his crush also… apparently had a crush _on him_.

“You’re so stupid,” Desmond told him.

What?” now Altair looked confused.

“I like you too you idiot!” Desmond cried. And it was amazing how genuinely surprised Altair looked.

Then he said, “Then what the hell are you doing kissing Connor?”

“I’m single, I can kiss whoever I want,” Altair scowled at him.

“I don’t want you to.”

“Well too fucking bad. You aren’t my boyfriend-

“Be my boyfriend,” Altair blurted out.

“What?”

“I want to be your boyfriend,” he said. “Cause I don’t want you kissing anyone but me.”

Desmond was totally floored. Altair wanted to go _out with him_. His brain kindly reminded him Altair was still closeted as shit and what it had been like _last time_ to date a boyfriend in the closet. “Okay,” Desmond said, “But I have conditions.”

“C-confitions? What do you mean you have conditions?” Altair demanded.

“I have conditions,” Desmond said.

Altair scowled, “What are they?”

“One, you have to be out.”

“What-

“I dated a guy who wasn’t and I was miserable. I’m not dating a guy I have to be secretive around. You want to be my boyfriend, you need to be out.”

“Like… how out are we talking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do I have to come out to my grandpa?”

“No,” and Desmond did some quick thinking, “but I want to be able to be with you at school, and in public. You don’t have to tell Rashid if you’re worried about what he’ll do or say,” because he wouldn’t risk Altair’s safety for his benefit. Duncan had dated enough gay and trans people that Desmond knew to not force them to make their lives too horrifically uncomfortable.

“Okay,” Altair said, “I can do that.”

“Good. Two, if we’re dating, we actually go on dates. No more of this just, Desmond come over and we can fuck.”

“Not even sometimes?” Altair asked.

“Well not _all_ the time.”

“Okay,” Altair said, “I can do that too. Is that all?”

“Any questions about them?” Desmond asked.

“No. I mean… they’re pretty fair, I thought you were going to have some crazy conditions. Any more?” he huffed.

“Just one,” and Desmond smiled, “You have to kiss me right now-“ and Desmond didn’t even finish because Altair was kissing him. Desmond wrapped his arms around his neck and smiled the entire time, and it was better because Altair was smiling too.

“I have some conditions too,” Altair said when they were no longer kissing.

“Okay?” Desmond asked, arms still around his neck, Altair had his around his waist.

“No more kissing Connor or _anyone_ else, but me,” he said.

“Of course, stupid. That’s the point of going out, exclusive rights to the goods,” he snickered.

“Two, I want you to stay away from Connor.”

“No,” Desmond said.

“No?”

“Yeah, no. Connor’s my friend. And I’ve done the whole possessive boyfriend thing before. Not interested in playing that game again. I won’t do anything with him, but he’s my friend and I’m going to continue to hang out with him.” Altair frowned at him, “Don’t look at me like that. How’d you like it if I told you not to hang out with Ezio anymore because I don’t like how he treats girls?”

Altair grimaced, “Okay,” he said, “I get… jealous when you’re around him.”

“Duly noted,” Desmond said, “Any other things?” he asked.

“Go out to lunch with me.”

Desmond laughed, “Right now?” Altair nodded. “Lunch is like, half over already.”

“I know, but we’ll go somewhere quick.”

“Okay.”

Altair took his arms from around him, “So, we’re going out?” he asked.

“If you’re out we are.” Altair’s mouth when thin, “I told you-

“No I know, I know,” he looked like he was thinking hard for a moment. “Give me the weekend? I don’t care about most people but I want to tell my friends that I’m… gay,” and Desmond smiled because he’d never heard Altair say it and it sounded hard for him to do so. “And not through someone else or something.”

“Okay,” Desmond said, “On Monday?”

“Yeah,” Altair nodded, “So… lunch?” he asked.

“Yes,” and Desmond kissed him on the cheek which seemed to cheer Altair up significantly.

“I’ll drive,” he said and Desmond followed Altair out of the bathroom and to the parking lot to his pretty, red, Mercedes. Desmond got into the passenger seat. Altair didn’t say anything as he started the car.

“So, where are we going?” Desmond asked as Altair pulled out of the parking lot.

“Somewhere quick,” and he pulled onto Flagler, “fast food I figure.”

So like… Burger King?” and thankfully they were already at the light because Altair gave him the most _insulted_ look. “What?”

“You actually _eat_ Burger King?”

“Sometimes,” Desmond said.

“Condition four; you can’t eat McDonalds or Burger King anymore,” and Desmond laughed. “That’s disgusting.”

“I don’t think its that bad. And I don’t eat it a lot. Just sometimes, or when its late and there’s nothing open.”

“Ew,” Altair said, still looking insulted as he turned onto First Street heading for N Roosevelt.

“So then where _are_ we going?”

“Miami Subs,” he said.

“I’ve never been, is it good? Like Subway?”

“ _Ew_ ,” Altair said again.

“What?”

“How the hell are you so thin if you eat garbage like that?” he demanded.

“I have a fast metabolism,” Desmond said. “And Subway’s healthy-

“No it so _isn’t_ ,” Altair said.

“So is this place healthy?”

Altair paused, “Not healthy exactly, but it isn’t as bad for you as fucking Burger King and its more interesting than Subway. Uhg I can’t even believe I kiss that mouth.”

Desmond snorted, “You’ll have to show me goo places to eat then,” Desmond said slyly.

Altair gave him a look when they came up to the nightmare that was N Roosevelt. There was construction going on it and had been for two years. It was a _nightmare_ since it was one of the three main roads to get into Old Town and most of the city. “You’re just saying that so I take you to fancy restaurants.”

“Is it working?” Desmond asked with a grin.

Altair gave him a look out of the corner of his eye as the light turned green, “A little,” he said.

“Then I don’t see anything wrong with that,” and Altair turned onto N Roosevelt and then turned almost immediately into a parking lot. Miami Subs was a white building with an aqua and pink sign that said the name and had a palm tree on it. Altair went around to the back to a drive through. “What’s good?”

“Everything,” Altair shrugged and Desmond leaned over to read the menu.

“Hmmmmm,” Desmond said thoughtfully. Altair was right though, it had more variety than Subway and the burger places. You could still get a burger and fries, but you could also get gyro and salads and hot subs, and ice cream and it was pretty cool.

“Know what you want?” Altair asked.

“I think so? What are you going to get?”

“The chicken pita,” he said.

“The gyro any good?”

“Pretty good.”

“Then I want that, and a soda.”

“Okay,” and Altair pulled forward to the speaker and ordered their food. Then they pulled up to the window. Desmond pulled out his wallet, “No,” Altair said.

“What?”

“No, put it away, I got it.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“I got it,” and Altair handed the man at the window his card.

“Thanks,” Desmond said and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He liked that.

“Doing anything tonight?” Altair asked as they waited for their food.

“Yeah, why?”

“Why do you think,” Altair looked him up and down.

“I told you-

“You said all the time,” Altair interrupted him, “and I like seeing you naked,” and Desmond flushed brightly. Altair leaned over to soft of speak into his ear, “my bed looks better with you in it,” and nuzzled him. Desmond turned vibrant red.

“I-I have work tonight,” he stammered.

“What about after work?” Altair asked, mouth still near his ear.

“I’m to do anything after work,” Desmond said.

“Sir,” the man at the window called and Altair drew back. Thank God. Altair got their food and put the bags in Desmond’s lap.

“You’ve gone to parties,” Altair said as he pulled away from the drive through.

“I didn’t work weekends then,” he said. “I work weekends now.”

“Dang,” Altair said and that was when Desmond pulled out his phone. He needed to do something. “What’re you doing?” he asked as he turned onto George to get back quicker.

“Blowing someone’s mind,” Desmond said, texting Clay. ‘I have a boyfriend.’

“Huh?”

“I’m sure you’ll hear all about it on Monday,” Desmond said cheerfully as Clay texted him back.

‘???????’

‘I have a boyfriend’

‘Did Connor ask you out or something?’

‘What? No. Why would he?’ ‘Clay?’

‘Class man! Duh, and where are you?’

‘I’ll talk to you after school.’ “We’re late,” he told Altair. Altair shrugged. “I know you’re failing chem but I don’t want to,” and Altair sighed.

“Well  you can be late once. You’ll live.” Altair pulled into a now much more full parking lot, going up to the front “Get out,” and Desmond hopped out. “Ey, leave my food,” Altair called, still in the car.

“What? Aren’t you coming?” Desmond asked.

“I need to park,” Altair said, “I’ll see you in class.”

“Okay,” Desmond ducked back down to put Altair’s bag on the seat and leaned over to give him a quick, light, kiss. Altair had a really dumb look on his face when he got back out. “See you in class,” and Desmond headed for his locker as Altair drove off to find a place to park.


	49. Chapter 49

Desmond found Clay at his car, though he was preoccupied by kissing his girlfriend. Desmond just waited, back to them, against the trunk, for them to finish. He knew Clay knew it was there, but he didn’t blame Clay for being more interested in his girlfriend than in Desmond.

Finally though Lucy did say goodbye and headed for where the car pool area was to where her mom picked her up from school. “So,” Clay suddenly grabbed him on the shoulders from behind. “What were those texts about?”

Desmond turned around, “I have a boyfriend.”

“As I surmised. Who? Connor?”

“Why’d you think that?”

“Because Ava gave me some super juicy news about him.”

“Yeah. What was it?”

“He’s planning on asking you out,” and Desmond felt his stomach drop out, but not like earlier. “Apparently this weekend… why do you look like you just saw a ghost?” and Clay looked over his shoulder. “Did I just blow up his spot? Shit I thought he’d asked you out already-

“Altair asked me out,” Desmond blurted.

Clay closed his mouth and stared at him. “Wait wait _wait_ , back up, rewind. Did you just say _Voldemort_ asked you out?”

“Yeah.”

“When!?” Clay cried.

“Today, at lunch, its why I wasn’t there.”

“And you didn’t tell me this till _now_?’

“We were in school!” Desmond cried.

“Horrible, weak ass, excuse,” Clay declared. “Altair asked you out?”

“Yeah… and fuck, _fuck_ , I didn’t even think about Connor, _fuck_ ,” and he grabbed his bangs.

“Yeaaaah, that’s a pickle. But I mean, you’re already accounted for so… tough luck sort of thing?”

“Uhg I’m shitty,” he said.

“Why?” Clay asked. Desmond just grimaced, “Desmond, bro, what’d you do?”

“I… might have totally kinda made out with Connor yesterday,” Desmond admitted.

“Seriously?”

“Yeaaaaaaah, it was a whole thing. I went to Altair’s for tutoring since our normal spot was occupied- and don’t look at me like that we _did_ study and I made Altair do his homework. We finished early and erm—

“And? Don’t leave me in suspense here. You didn’t suck his dick and then go and kiss Connor did you?”

“What! No no! Nothing like that,” Desmond batted at him annoyedly. “We just… made out and then I left cause me and Connor had a thing. And well… he kissed me and I kissed him back and we practiced riding my motorcycle-

“Well that isn’t the only thing he wants to ride-

“Clay!” he yelled and Clay howled with laughter. “And uhg yeah afterwards I totally taught him how to kiss and we made out for a while before his parents came home,” Desmond grimaced.

“Get in,” Clay got into his car.

“What?”

“Get in, its fucking hot out and I want to sit in the AC,” he said. Desmond went around to the passenger side and slid into Clay’s car.

“And Voldy asked you out today,” turning on the car and the AC, hot air blew through the car and they both cranked the windows down to let the hot air escape.

“Yeah.”

“And obviously you said yes.”

“Well… yeah. Am I a jerk?”

“For what? For going out with a guy you’ve had the most _annoying_ crush on for like like three months? Hell no. Connor’ll have to get over it if he’s upset. But he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who gets like that.”

“Yeah but I mean… like I’ve been kinda… maybe leading him on a bit for a few weeks.” The AC finally kicked on and they rolled the windows back up, now sitting in the nice, cool, car.

“You have?”

“I told him I liked him-

“ _Desmond_ ,” Clay sighed.

“What?! Altair wasn’t in the picture okay? I only saw him other than tutoring since break and I didn’t fuck him since before break either. We didn’t even do it at his party.”

“Yeah… you didn’t. What’s up with that?”

“I don’t… remember,” Desmond admitted, “I was really drunk.”

“Yeah you were. You all were. Except me.”

“What am I gonna tell Connor?” Desmond asked.

“The truth?” Clay asked, “That you always liked Altair and now you’re dating him and you’re sorry you gave him the wrong impression?”

“Uuuuhg,” Desmond slid down in the seat. “I am a jerk,” he lamented. “I totally led him on and now… ‘sorry Connor I have a boyfriend, it isn’t you. I was totally just super horny and you were easy and cute and AHG!’” He pressed his hand over his face.

“You’re totally overreacting. Connor will understand.”

“Would you?” Desmond asked.

“What that you got a fucking boyfriend after making out with me? Been there, done that, read the terrible book, saw the shittier movie, and had to deal with the author and main actor hanging around being a leech,” Clay said irritably. “Or are we going to continue to act like Alex was a figment of both our imaginations and not a guy who was a shit bag to you.”

Desmond looked down, “He wasn’t that bad-

“He was borderline abusive and a manipulative dick. You did tell Altair you don’t date guys in the closet right?”

“Yeah,” Desmond sunk further into his seat. He knew Clay was just looking out for him, but he tried to _not_ think about Alex. He was the best and worst thing that had ever happened to him and when he thought about him sometimes he… forgot that he was the worst thing for a reason.

“Good,” Clay said. “And if I got over it after having to watch you date a fucking ass face like Alex who didn’t give a _shit_ about you, Connor can get over you dating a guy like Altair who, if he’s coming out, clearly _does_ … He is coming out right?”

Desmond nodded, “He wanted to tell his friends himself. He told me he’d have done it by Monday.”

“Good,” and Desmond was still surprised how _heated_ Clay was about the entire thing. He didn’t realize Clay had such a violent reaction to just bringing Alex up. The guy had been gone two years. “So, what are you going to do now?”

Desmond looked at the clock on Clay’s dashboard, “I need to get ready for work,” he said.

“You got like an hour,” he said.

“I know. Which is why I’m going to sit right here for another fifteen minutes before going home. Okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” and Clay sat back in his chair. “Also,” Desmond looked over at him, Clay grinned a little, “I’m happy for you, man.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? I mean, you’re my bro and you like Altair, I’m not going to ask _why_ , and if he likes you, well, who cares? If he turns into another Alex though I’m getting you a fucking restraining order.”

Desmond smiled a little, happy Clay cared so much, “Thanks,” he said.

“I’m serious,” Clay said, “I watched one guy fuck you over and say he loved you. I’m not doing that again. But I’m giving Altair the benefit of the doubt since he isn’t super creepy like Alex was. So, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Clay,” he said, “For looking out.”

“I look out a lot, thanks. Not like you’d even notice Altair had a face if I didn’t remind you,” and Desmond laughed.

“He has a face, from the back, above his thighs. Its a really nice face,” and Clay snorted.

They lapsed into silence and Clay turned on some music. They sat there listening to Clay’s iPod for a little while before Desmond had to leave and get his ass to work. “See you later,” he said, grabbing his stuff.

“Bye,” Clay said, waving and Desmond headed for his bike, pulling on his helmet when he got there. As he did he got a text and looked at it. It was from Clay, ‘it’ll be fine <3’ and he smiled. He noticed he had another text as well, from Altair. ‘Where do you work?’

He answered it without thinking, still preoccupied with thinking about just _what_ he was going to do about Connor. He didn’t want to hurt his friend. He really really didn’t. But what was he going to say when Connor either tried to kiss him, or tried to ask him out. He really didn’t want to think about it. But he knew it’d come up. He just hoped he had a few days to come up with something good.


	50. Chapter 50

When Desmond arrived at work it was busy, and it stayed busy through most of his shift. It was season after all. Meaning it was still cold up north and it was warm in Florida and all the snow birds were visiting during their temperate season to get out of the cold back home. That just meant that there were a lot of tourists around.

And if there was anything a local hated and loved in equal measure, it was a tourist.

The restaurant Desmond worked at was mainly a local’s haunt though, as it was too far from Key West for most tourists, but it was still busy. Bobalu’s was an open air restaurant in a squat, wooden building that always had its windows open except when it was ‘cold’. There was a small bar and about two dozen tables with plastic table cloths and mounted trophy fish on the wall. On the furthest wall from the door a mural had been painted of the ocean. And at the end there was a little outside area with two tables.

Desmond waited tables on weekends. It paid for his gas and his motorcycle insurance and he put away a bit each paycheck for college though he was probably going to get a mostly full ride from the state. It was okay money, and he knew a few of the regulars by name.

It wasn’t until later that Desmond had a chance to take his break and he scarfed down some meatloaf nearly as fast as he could put it in his mouth. While he was on break a few more people came in, but he wasn’t paying attention to them. He was scrolling through his instagram feed. It was full of cute boys, so he was effectively utterly distracted.

His break was over all too soon though and he got up, gave his plate to the dishwasher and washed his hands to go back to work. There were only two waiters and now that Desmond was off his break the other could go on break. He checked the dining room and there was a family eating as well as some fisherman waiting for his food. There was also a couple in the little room outside, holding menus. Those were his tables, so he headed over there.

“Hello,” he said cheerfully as he approached. His brows went up to his hairline when the ‘couple’ looked up from their menus. “Just so you know, this is borderline stalker behavior,” he said.

Malik laughed at that, “What? I like this place,” Altair said defensively, “My gramps knows the owners.”

“I have never seen you here… ever,” Desmond said.

“I didn’t say I came here often,” Altair rolled his eyes.

Desmond shifted his weight to one foot, “So, what do you want?” he asked, taking out his order pad, because Altair being here or not he still had a job to do.

“We need a second still. But I want a Coke-

“Me too,” Malik chimed in, “and a water, with lemon.”

“Okay,” and Desmond left before they could say anything. He checked in on the family before getting their drinks. “So, you know what you want?”

“Yeah I want-

“You,” Malik cut in and then Malik yelped when Altair kicked him, hard, under the table. Desmond flushed a little and Malik looked way too pleased with himself despite Altair’s glare.

“Don’t make me call your girlfriend,” Altair threatened.

“Yeah? And say what?”

“That you’re being mean to me, again,” Altair said.

Malik rolled his eyes, “Guy’s sensitive,” he told Desmond with a smirk. Desmond chose to say nothing, not even knowing where to begin with these two.

“Anyway, I want the fish tacos special,” Altair said.

“Okay,” Desmond jotted it down and then looked at Malik expectantly.

“The fried fish basket, with grouper,” Malik said.

“All right, they’ll be out in a few,” and Desmond retreated, barely remembering to grab their menus.

He wasn’t even out of ear shot when he heard Malik, “I still don’t get why you like him,” and if nothing else that sent butterflies shooting through him. He went and put their orders in and brought the fisherman his order and went to find something to do. He decided to clean, wiping down tables so he wouldn’t have to do it later.

He kept glancing over at Altair and Malik’s table where they were leaning towards each other a bit, talking. Desmond _swore_ a few times he caught them both stealing looks. It made him more than a little self conscious. Eventually he had to tear himself away to go smile and ask the family and fisherman were doing and then went to Altair and Malik’s table.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“Fine,” Altair said.

“I’d like some more Coke,” Malik said, perfectly pleasantly, but his glass was maybe a forth empty. He just wanted to make Desmond do something.

“Sure,” Desmond said and left with Malik’s glass. He heard a ‘okay maybe I get it now’ from Malik and it took every ounce of will he had to not turn around and look. They were obviously staring after him.

While he got Malik his soda their food came up. He went back to their table, set it down and didn’t let them grab his attention before going off again. He put their food on a big tray and carried it to their table as the other waitress came off break. He set it down on a table inside the restaurant, and brought their plates to them.

“Here you go, fish tacos,” he set Altair’s plate down, “and the fish and chips,” and Malik got a plastic basket along with their sides.

“When’s your shift over?” Altair asked him before he could beat it.

“Uh,” he took a quick glance at his phone for the time. “When we close in like thirty minutes,” he said. Across the dining room the waitress was giving the family their bill.

“You busy?” he asked, still having not touched his food.

“Uh…” and Desmond saw where this was going. “Yes,” he lied. Altair gave him a look. “I got shit to do,” he said scowling, “and I do all my homework Friday night so I don’t have to over the weekend,” he added, which was true (most of the time if he didn’t go out).

“Alright,” Altair sighed a little and turned away from him to eat his food. Desmond left then, and took his tray and went back to the main area.

He checked on Altair and Malik a few times, refilled their water and soda but they didn’t bother him again. That meant he could focus on cleaning up so he wouldn’t have to be here late. The family and fisherman left, and no one else came in. Desmond and the other waitress cleaned the the dining room, and the bathroom, and did all their stocking they had to do.

He just had to get Malik and Altair out of here so he could close his till and go the fuck home.

Desmond went over to their table, they’d finished their food and were talking. “How was everything?” Desmond asked.

They both looked at him, “Good,” Altair said. “I’ll take the check,” he added as Desmond collected their plates. Desmond nodded and went to get it. He came back and put the check on the table and went to finish up the cleaning. He heard them talk, get up, chairs scraping the wood, and then walk out, clearly not needing change. 

Desmond went to get their bill and his brows rose. Altair had basically left him a hundred percent tip, which was like thirty bucks. He didn’t even know that happened. He looked at the door, to make sure they weren’t coming back, and then went to cash the money.

He helped finish cleaning and then grabbed his till and drawer and counted out the money. Pretty good, even for a Friday. Altair’s big tip had helped quite a bit too. He finished the stuff he had to do before finally being able to leave.

He was glad when he could grab his leather jacket and helmet and leave. He changed his shoes, throwing his work shoes into his backpack, and headed out, calling goodbye to the other employees.

Desmond stopped when he saw a red Mercedes parked next to his motorcycle. A very familiar red Mercedes. He went over to his bike and the window rolled down. He stopped next to the driver’s side window, where Altair was sitting, Malik wasn’t in the passenger seat.

“What are you doing?” Desmond asked.

“I know you got stuff,” Altair said. “But I want you to come over.”

“Altair I have homework,” Desmond said, frowning.

“Really? You’d rather do homework than come over?”

Yes? No? Not really. He was still reeling from the entire day. First Altair and then Clay told him Connor was going to ask him out and he still couldn’t believe Altair _liked him_. “No,” he admitted, because that was the truth.

“Then come over,” Altair said.

“I can’t,” he said.

“What? Why? You just said you wanted to,” Altair’s confusion was genuine.

“What are you doing here?” Desmond asked.

“Hm?”

“What are you doing here? Why did you come to my job?”

“I wanted to see you,” he said and why did that make his stomach do stupid things? He sounded so sincere and it did horrible things to him. “I only see you at school, I wanted to see you outside of school too.”

Altair just made it so hard to be annoyed with him didn’t he? “You could have seen me tomorrow,” Desmond said.

“Ah… insider information says I should probably _not_ try and hang out with you tomorrow.”

“Oh my god did everyone _but_ me know Connor was going to ask me out this weekend?” Desmond demanded.

Altair laughed a little, “I think just me-

“And Clay,” Desmond said.

“Well doesn’t he know everything anyway?”

“…Yes,” Desmond admitted grudgingly.

“And Malik. Not like anyone else cares,” Altair said.

Desmond sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “So you don’t wanna hang out tomorrow _why_? Weren’t you the one who didn’t want me to hang out with him?”

“I don’t want to cause a scene if you have to give it to Connor straight and then come be with me. I mean, I’m a jerk, but I’m not an asshole,” he said.

“Yeah you are,” Desmond said, giving him a look.

“You’re still with me and not him,” he said with a cocky grin.

“Unofficially,” Desmond reminded him. “You aren’t out.”

Altair scowled at him, “I told you, by Monday. I’m also telling my friends tomorrow.” Though he looked hesitant. Desmond didn’t blame him. Coming out could be nerve wracking. Desmond had done it when his parents had been angry at Duncan so it seemed less important. Of course they didn’t care if he was gay or not and William’s only comment had been ‘I’m not going to get any grandkids at this rate.’ “Which is also why I can’t hang out. Some of them might be weird.”

Desmond sighed, “Not tonight. Just… not tonight.”

“Can I ask why?” Altair asked.

“Because I still am getting my head around the fact that you’re… my boyfriend,” he admitted.

Altair laughed, “I am amazing aren’t I?” he said cheekily.

“Only _sometimes_ ,” he said. “Also, did you forget to get change?”

“Nope. All for you.” Desmond eyed him, “I always leave big tips for cute waiters,” he winked at Desmond who felt himself flush. “Or ones who do a good job.”

“Okay,” Desmond said.

“Lean down,” Altair said.

“Huh?”

“Lean down.”

Desmond did so, wondering why he needed to. Altair sat up a bit straighter in his seat, lifting himself up a bit since Desmond only leaned down to the top of the window. Altair grabbed his collar and yanked him down a few more inches to kiss him. Maybe it was supposed to be a quick thing, but it didn’t stay that way. Desmond kissed Altair back firmly and he sort of tasted like fish tacos and day old breath. He licked Altair’s lips and before he knew how his head was inside the car and just short of making out with him.

Then Altair pulled back, “You sure you don’t wanna come over?” he asked, and seemed just as flustered as Desmond by the sudden intensity.

“Do,” Desmond said, “Can’t. My parents expect me to be home after work.”

“Mmm, too bad. That could have gone somewhere,” Altair said with a smirk.

Desmond yanked his head out of Altair’s car. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said.

“All right,” and Altair shrugged a little. Desmond turned away and yanked on his helmet. “Also,” Altair said, Desmond looked at him, “You’re super hot in that jacket,” and Desmond flushed brightly.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said again, firmer this time, Altair laughed and nodded, rolling up his window. Desmond threw his leg over his bike and started her up with a rumble. Altair pulled away from the parking lot and Desmond pulled out his phone, he sent a brief text to Clay. ‘We need to have lunch tomorrow.’ That was it. Then he pushed his bike back and headed for home.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry I've been away for so long. I had the worst writer's block for about a month and then caught the fucking black plague from some shitty customer at work.
> 
> Hopefully we'll have some more regular updates/rapid fire ones cause uhg even though I'm super late about it I'm still excited for Valentines day in this fic uuuuuuuhg

Desmond was waiting for Clay at the wharf by the Cuban Coffee Queen, in sight of the Half Shell, Turtle Kraals and Mac’s Sea Garden. He was sitting on his motorcycle sipping from a little styrofoam cup of cafe con leche he’d loaded up with sugar since there was no seating at the Coffee Queen. There was a line at the little sandwich and coffee shack (literally the building was about as big as his living room) as people from the Meadows came here for a Cuban breakfast, or a strong coffee before going to work. Clay said meet for breakfast, and he had stayed at Lucy’s last night and she and her family lived out in Old Town. So here Desmond was, waiting for Clay to finally make an appearance, last night vivid in his mind’s eye.

He hadn’t slept well last night, tossing and turning and finally waking up at four am and playing video games before going to meet Clay for lunch. Apparently he and Lucy were making a day trip up to Miami because Lucy wanted to go shopping. So breakfast it was. The Cuban coffee was helping him wake up, but he still felt like death warmed up. He wanted to go home and nap, or attempt to. He was dreading today and if he’d see Connor and what he’d have to say and do. 

He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings. But he had led Connor on and that hadn’t been fair but he hadn’t _known_ Altair even liked him till yesterday! Sex notwithstanding since you could have sex with someone and not really like them. Desmond knew all about that after all.

He frowned into his coffee cup as his phone dinged.

‘Where you at?’ Clay had texted him.

‘Fire lane in front of ccq’

‘I see you!’

Desmond didn’t have to wait much longer. He got off his bike as Clay got in line and joined him. The line wasn’t too long, only two or three people deep. “So what’s up?” Clay asked Desmond as they waited in line.

“I don’t know what to do,” Desmond said, “about Altair- about _Connor_. Like what do I say to him? Also Altair came to my work last night with Malik and I know one hundred percent they were talking about me and staring at my ass all night.”

Clay leaned back, “Well its a nice ass I don’t blame them,” he smirked, Desmond gave him an unamused look.

“Can you focus here.”

“I am,” Clay said, still staring at Desmond’s ass. Desmond groaned, “Okay okay,” Clay laughed a little, “Sorry you walked into that one.” Desmond whined in annoyance at him.

“Is it weird Altair came to my work last night?”

“Yeah a little. He say why?”

“He said he wanted to see me outside of school,” Desmond said.

“Well I don’t see anything incredibly wrong with that. He should have set something up though and not just appeared. That was weird.”

“And the Malik thing, is that weird?”

“Well he literally just did what we’re doing now,” Clay said and then they came up to the counter. Clay ordered two cuban sandwiches, one cafe con leche, one chocolate mocha, and two pan cubanos. Desmond just got a pan cubano. Once they’d paid they left the counter to wait to be called. “What were we talking about again?”

“Altair and Malik visiting me at work.”

“Right right! Well I mean them talking about you is no weirder than what we’re doing right now. We’re talking about Altair and he’s not here and you have talked to me about his butt and shit. I’m sure they do the same thing. I mean Malik is basically a less attractive version of me,” he grinned.

Desmond gave him a look, making Clay laugh. “Okay so maybe not as weird as I though,” Desmond admitted. “I still… have no idea what to tell Connor.”

“The truth,” Clay said.

“I don’t wanna hurt his feelings though!” Desmond whined.

“They’re going to get hurt if you tell him or not,” Clay said. “Either you tell him and he hears it from you, or he sees it on Monday and feels cheated and knows you lied to him today.”

Desmond hung his head, “I know,” he groaned.

“Then why we having this conversation?”

“Because I’m a scardy cat,” Desmond whined and pawed a bit at Clay’s arms. “I also don’t like making my friends sad.”

“No one does. But you’ll make it worse if you _don’t_ tell him.”

Desmond sighed. “You’re right. Uhg I should just call him and do it.”

“Don’t do that that’s mean,” Clay said.

“But-

“Do it in person. After we get breakfast. I can’t stay I need to head back to Lucy’s place to we can get to Miami at a reasonable hour.”

“Uhhhhg,” Desmond complained just as their food was called. Clay was given a plastic bag of wrapped up Cuban bread and a tray with his drinks, and Desmond just had his paper wrapped buttered bread. He opened it and dipped it right into his con leche. He’d thought it was gross when he’d first moved here, but it was how the Cubans did their coffee and it was surprisingly yummy.

“Stop belly aching, you’ll live,” Clay said and they started to walk towards Clay’s car parked over by the Half Shell which was still closed. “Just practice what you’re going to say, and don’t let him kiss you. Then maybe afterwards call Altair.”

“Why?”

“Remind yourself why you’re doing it?” Clay shrugged, “I mean you’re probably going to break the kid’s heart, might as well look after your own. And I bet Altair would want support too. I mean he’s coming out for you.”

“I hate when you’re smart and rational, you know that,” Desmond said, having scarfed down half his pan cubano.

“Yeah I know its amazing right?”

“Fuck off.”

“You’re the one who wanted to come to breakfast. Now, are we cool? I need to get back.”

Desmond sighed, “Yeah… we’re cool. I might call _you_ after I talk to Connor though.”

“Okay. I might be driving.”

“Okay,” Desmond frowned and drank the last of his con leche as Clay got in his car.

“You’re not an asshole Desmond,” Clay said, rolling down the window as the car started. “You’re allowed to be with someone you’re attracted to and who likes you back. Connor will have to get over it. And if he can’t… well tough shit honestly,” Clay shrugged.

“Thanks,” Desmond said lowly.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Clay said and rolled the window back up and pulled out of the parking space. Desmond went back to his bike, gnawing on the other half of his pan cubano. He needed to just rip off the damn bandaid and get it over with. Easier said than done.

—

Desmond drove around Key West a few hours, hung out at Mallory Square even though nothing was going on, went to West Martello and saw the gardens. He was also reminded of where Altair had almost kissed him under that arch. It was closer to noon when he finally got his shit together and went back home.

He was hanging up his jacket and helmet when there was a knock on the door. He heard his dad answer it but it was muffled by his own door. Then there was a knock on his door. Desmond took a deep breath and answered it.

Connor smiled when he saw him. He had his hair pulled back and Desmond felt like shit. “Hey Con,” Desmond said, trying to sound normal.

“Hey. I was wondering. Are you busy?”

“No.”

“Oh cool so I can hang out?”

“I swear you’re supposed to be grounded.”

Connor laughed and Desmond let him into his room, closing the door behind him. “Yeah not grounded anymore,” Connor said cheerfully. In fact he seemed happier than usual and Desmond felt wretched knowing he was going to crush him. “So now I don’t have to sneak out all the time to hang out,” he sat down onto Desmond’s bed.

“Its almost like you like disobeying your dad,” Desmond said, sitting next to him, his leg jiggling restlessly.

“Heh, you know it,” Connor said.

“So you wanna play something?” he motioned to his game station and Connor nodded. Desmond got it all set up and they played co-op Dead Space 3, which was actually super fun. Desmond felt himself relax.

It was a few hours later when Connor paused the game and looked at Desmond. “What? Why’d you pause we were in the groove,” he complained.

Connor opened his mouth, nothing came out, he closed it. And shit this was where it was going to happen. Desmond was going to have to tell Connor it wouldn’t work and he was _dreading it_. “I really like you,” Connor said and shit didn’t that make him feel like an absolute asshole. “And well… I was kinda just… I mean if you wanted to-

“Con,” Desmond said, stopping Connor’s stammering and stumbling. “I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Connor asked, and he looked so hopeful. Desmond was about to crush that hope.

“I have a boyfriend.”

He watched the hope and happiness grain out of Connor’s face. He suddenly looked like he was holding back his emotions. “You have a boyfriend?” he asked, his voice odd and high and it cracked a little.

“Yeah I- I have a boyfriend now. So I know what you were going to ask. But I can’t,” and Desmond felt _awful_ because just a second ago Connor had seemed so upbeat and now he looked like he was about to cry. “And I’m really sorry I led you on.”

“What?” Connor squeaked.

“I do like you,” Desmond said, “but you were… shit how do I say this without sounding like an asshole?” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t have minded being your first foray into guys and I was kinda just looking for something uncomplicated but I had this crush on this other guy and he asked me out.” And he hated how devastated Connor looked. “And I said yes.”

“Who?” Connor asked.

Desmond sighed deeply, “Altair,” he said.

Connor looked ahead, not at Desmond. He swallowed and Desmond said nothing. “I’ll see you at school,” and he got up from the bed and left, Desmond didn’t stop him.

Once Connor was gone Desmond threw himself onto the bed and groped for his phone. He thought about calling Clay, but Clay wasn’t around and he wanted a hug. He also didn’t want to tell his parents he had a boyfriend. Not yet at any rate. He’d wait a few weeks before telling them because he knew if they knew he’d never get to hang out with Altair after dinner and he had _plans_ on what he wanted to do after dinner with Altair. He thought about calling Rebecca but she was relationship stupid. She and Shaun worked and no one knew quite how and she’d be no help.

For a stupid second he thought about looking through his message threads for Alex’s. He’d never deleted their conversation, even after two years. But that was a horrible, _horrible_ , idea.

Instead he ended up calling Altair, curling into the fetal position a bit.

Altair picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hey. Can I come over? I know you said you were talking to your friends or something but…”

“But?”

“I wanna see you.”

“What’s the matter? Something happen?”

“I’m a fucking asshole is what happened,” Desmond said, turning into his mattress a bit. “I had to tell Connor I was dating you and now I feel horrible.”

“You can come over. All my friends just left.”

“You told them?”

“I told them.”

“What’d they say?”

“Only Ezio took it bad. He was just mad about how much I’d seen him naked.”

“Stupid straight guys.”

“Basically. But yeah, come over. I’ll make you something.”

“Like what?”

“Mmm, how about brownies?”

“I like brownies,” Desmond said in a small voice.

Altair chuckled, “Yeah you would. Brownies fix everything.”

“Yeah. Okay I’ll be right over,” Desmond said and got up.

“See you,” Altair said cheerfully and they hung up. Desmond put his jacket back on, grabbed his helmet, and left. He called to his parents he was going to see Shaun up the Keys and they told him to call if he wouldn’t be coming home. He took the long way out of the base so he didn’t have to pass Connor’s house on his way to Stock Island.

 


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs head against mattress making whining noises* its so cuuute

Desmond sat in Altair’s driveway, on his bike, and scrubbed at his face. He honestly had been so upset that this was the one thing he’d thought to do but now that he was here he didn’t know if he should go in there. He was feeling _way_ too many things right now, including a whole lot of guilt. Even though Clay was right, he _was_ allowed to be with someone he liked. Still didn’t help him not feel like an asshole though.

After sitting there a minute he got off his bike and went to the door, taking off his helmet as he did. He knocked and Altair answered a moment later. Desmond deflated seeing him. He didn’t look any different than last night when Desmond had seen him, but that just meant he looked amazing. Desmond’s chest went all tight because shit this was his boyfriend and seeing Altair made Desmond realize how much he did like him and how much Connor had just… been an easy rebound. He was so shitty for using Connor as a rebound too.

“Hey,” Altair said. Desmond took a step forward and put his forehead on the meat of Altair’s shoulder with a sigh. “Everything okay?”

“I’m an asshole,” he said.

Altair didn’t say anything for a second and then, “I got the stuff out for brownies, wanna come help me?”

“Yes,” Desmond said pathetically.

“Okay,” and Altair pulled him inside. Desmond took off his jacket as he followed Altair into the kitchen and placed both it and his helm on the counter where he sometimes had breakfast. Altair had him wash his hands as he opened the brownie mix box. “So… any regrets?” he asked when Desmond joined him.

“About?”

“Saying yes to me?”

“Well other than being a shitty friend to Connor… no.”

“Good,” Altair said and leaned over to kiss him lightly. “I don’t regret coming out to my friends either,” he said softly, against Desmond’s mouth. No one should be able to make Desmond’s stomach turn itself into a knot like that. It should have been illegal. Desmond kissed him again. “Brownies,” Altair said before they got _too_ into it since Altair seemed to be as into the whole kissing thing as Desmond was.

“Right,” Desmond said. Altair did all the ingredients and let Desmond do the mixing. They put nuts in the mix and Altair produced little caramel chunks for it too. Once it was poured in the pan and put in the oven and they shared licking the spoon and bowl clean before throwing it into the dish washer.

“So those’ll take a bit to bake,” Altair said.

“What were you doing before I called?” Desmond asked.

“About to binge watch Master Chef and eat a pint of ice cream out of the container,” Altair said without any shame. Desmond stared at him and was totally into that. “Ezio was kinda a dick before he left.”

“Sorry.”

“Its okay. I knew of everyone he’d be the one most upset. He’s known me since I moved down here when I was little so he was just kinda mad Malik knew before him. Also the whole I’ve seen him naked a lot and now he feels uncomfortable.”

“But you don’t… like Ezio,” Desmond said frowning.

“Nope,” Altair said, “Maybe for a day or two when I realized I liked boys,” he shrugged. “Straight people act stupid when you come out to them.”

“Oh I am _well_ aware,” Desmond huffed. Back in Texas, before they’d moved, he’d come out to one of his friends and his first question had been if Desmond liked him, because he wasn’t gay. “He wouldn’t like… do something would he?”

“Naw. Leo’s his best friend and the gayest person I’ve ever met. Malik’s… Malik,” he frowned a little, clearly he wasn’t fully aware of just _what_ Malik’s sexuality was either, “and Yusuf’s bi. So he’s surrounded by queer kids. He was just mad Malik knew first I guess. He’ll get over it.”

“Okay, good,” Desmond nodded. “And that idea of binge watching Master Chef sounded like a good idea,” he added.

“With ice cream?”

“Gotta save the ice cream for the brownies, we’re not wild animals are we?” and that made Altair laugh. Desmond found his new favorite thing; making Altair laugh.

“No, we’re not,” Altair agreed. “C’mon, movie room is over here,” and Altair led him down the hall he normally took to go to Altair’s bedroom, but took one of the earlier doors.

“Oh fuck you,” Desmond said. The room was fairly big with no windows while there was no TV screen there was a projector. There was also a _huge_ couch that was more like a bed and there was a pile of pillows both on the bed and even spilling off it. In the center of the bed/couch was a table top and there was a table lining against the wall.

“What?” Altair asked.

“This is bigger than my living room and your screen is nearly the floor space of my bedroom,” Desmond complained.

“Sorry,” Altair said, but chuckled a little. “You can come use it any time,” and Altair closed the door and sat on the bed. “Take your shoes off before you get on,” Altair added as he was pushing some pillows out of the way to find a playstation controller and a remote. Desmond did so and joined him. Altair used the remote to turn on the projector and the room, which was nearly pitch black with the door closed, erupted into light.

Altair went to Hulu and put on Master Chef before leaning back contently, his phone sitting on the table in the middle of the couch counting down on the brownies in the oven. Desmond hesitated a second before remembering he was allowed, all that real estate was his. So he parked himself next to Altair and leaned against him. They shifted a bit to get comfortable and Desmond ended up under Altair’s arm and that was a good spot as far as he was concerned.

When Altair’s phone started to go off Altair extracted himself from Desmond to go take the brownies out of the oven, but left Master Chef running. Desmond waited. And he waited. The first episode was almost ending and Altair was still gone. Brownies did _not_ take that long to take out of the oven. For some reason that made him nervous.

Desmond left the theater room and went towards the kitchen. He could smell the brownies and they smelled _wonderful_. He found Altair at the stove, stirring something. “What are you doing?” Desmond asked him.

“Eh?” Altair asked, turning his head around.

“You’ve been gone like twenty minutes,” Desmond said.

“Oh. I was making frosting,” he said seriously.

“What?” Desmond went further into the kitchen. The glass baking pan was sitting on the stone countertop to cool and Altair was stirring the contents of a pot quickly without looking.

“I said; I’m making frosting.” The pot was filled with a thick milky substance that had hunks of chocolate in it. “Milk needed to be boiled, but can’t do it too fast or you might burn it,” he said.

“How are you bad at chemistry?” Desmond asked.

“Uh… I’m not,” Altair said, breaking up some of the chocolate.

“What?” Desmond felt like a parrot, repeating the same thing over and over again. What was probably going to be a reoccurring theme while dating Altair; at least for a little bit.

“I’m an A student,” Altair said, “you think I’m actually failing chem? I have a ninety-eight in that class now.”

“Again; what? Why the hell did you need tutoring then?” Desmond demanded. Altair didn’t answer right away. “Well?”

“I didn’t know how to talk to you,” Altair said, looking at him, sort of guilty. “I asked the teacher if I could do tutoring even though I’m not bad at it.”

Desmond stared at him, his mouth open a little. “Our teacher was in on this!?” he cried.

“Yeah he totally was,” Altair admitted.

“You idiot! You could have just talked to me! Oh my god I can’t even with you,” and Desmond turned away. He was so utterly done with Altair.

“Yeah sure. Popular football player starts talking to the nerdy nobody in school. I thought you would think I was bullying you,” Altair said. When he said it like that, yeah Desmond could see where Altair was coming from. They had nothing in common at first glance other than that they both liked dick and if Altair just out of no where starting talking to him _he_ would have thought Altair was having a go at him cause he was one of three openly gay guys at school. Malik and Leo being the others (according to Clay there were a bunch more in the closet and he was _sure_ of that). Even if that line of thinking didn’t exactly work cause those two other openly gay guys were Altair’s friends. Still just because you had gay friends didn’t mean you couldn’t be a homophobe. Desmond had had family who were nice to him and were still raging homophobes who thought he was going to hell, but that didn’t stop them from liking him (though he almost wished it would).

“And yet you still acted like you hated me,” Desmond said.

“I was mad it cut into practice,” Altair said. “Football is important to me and I had to give it up a few days a week to be fake tutored for shit I already knew. I thought I could do it after practice was over, nope had to be during. So yeah, I was pissed about it- shit,” Desmond turned around and saw Altair taking the pot of now thick chocolaty stuff off the stove and he looked to be trying to save it from burning.

“You could have saved yourself grief if you’d just tole me,” Desmond said. “I mean what was I gonna do? At worst I’d have said I wasn’t interested, which lemmie tell you, after Ezio’s party that was the last thing I was.”

Altair frowned and didn’t say anything right away. Instead he grabbed a rubber spatula and started to pour the frosting over the warm brownies. “I’m not good at this,” he said, his voice sort of low. “Like… this,” he made a half motion as if to indicate Desmond. “I’m not that good at being a friend either. Like I honestly don’t see most of my friends outside of school. I like being alone. I didn’t know _how_ to talk to you,” he wasn’t looking at Desmond now. “So I had to do something to… hang out,” he grimaced as he scraped the last of the frosting out of the bowl. “I’m really not that good at talking to people to make them like me.”

“Really I never would have guessed,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“Well it worked. Got you to go out with me didn’t I?” he offered Desmond the rubber spatula.

Desmond half scowled, but took the spatula to suck on, “You could have made it less painful on yourself if you’d just talked to me.”

“Probably,” Altair agreed and put the brownies in the fridge to cool down quicker so they could eat them sooner.

“Kinda wish you had,” Desmond said around the spatula, fitting nearly the entire thing in his mouth. “Would have saved me the fucking headache about wanting to kiss your stupid fucking face.”

“Not sorry about the stupid fucking face thing,” Altair said with a smirk. “But I don’t need tutoring. I was only in it to talk to you.”

“That is so horribly romantic I might actually throw up,” Desmond said dryly and made Altair laugh again. “And stop that I might actually start to like you for more than your ass if you do that,” and that didn’t make him stop, but Desmond hadn’t wanted him too.

Altair took the spatula out of Desmond’s hand, “Sorry, you’re going to have to deal with it,” he said, holding onto Desmond’s wrist, contemplated him a second before kissing him once, quickly, on the mouth.

“Damn and here I thought it could be a strictly superficial relationship,” Desmond said sarcastically. “How long you going to keep those brownies in there? Cause we still have a date with that pan, ice cream and Chef Ramsey,” he tapped his finger on Altair’s chest.

“Right right, how could I forget?” Altair said. “Few minutes.”

“Perfect,” Desmond said.

“Perfect—?“ and Desmond finished that kiss he’d stopped on last night, kissing Altair firmly.  Altair pushed him against the counter kissing him, Desmond putting his arms around Altair’s shoulders. He wasn’t going to get tired of this any time soon honestly. Altair was equally into it and they ended up making out for a few minutes until Altair’s phone started beeping again. “Still want those brownies?”

“Well you aren’t _that_ tasty, so yes,” Desmond said and let Altair go. Altair grabbed the pan from the fridge and cut the brownies and put them on a plate. He handed the plate to Desmond and grabbed the pint of ice cream, two bowls, and some spoons and went back to the theater room. Master Chef was still playing when they got back. Altair turned the lights up a little bit and made them both brownies and ice cream. They both ate it silently while watching Chef Ramsey deal with semi competent cooks on the TV. Desmond had seconds, because he liked to eat his feelings, before he laid back next to Altair, leaving the rest of the ice cream to melt. Altair didn’t seem to mind or care though.

Altair made them both dinner at some point, way past the time they should have had dinner, and put away the brownies (having to throw out the ice cream). But they went right back to binge watching after that. Desmond remembered to text his parents before midnight to say he wasn’t coming home. Like he could pry himself away at this point. Desmond ended up falling asleep sometime during the season finale, pressed up against Altair’s side.


	53. Chapter 53

It was a strange experience to wake up in a place he wasn’t familiar with. He’d woken up in Altair’s bed enough that it wasn’t unknown to him now. But when Desmond cracked his eyes and realized he wasn’t in his bed, or Altair’s, and had fallen asleep fully clothed, on Altair’s giant couch thing he was disorientated. He grumbled and sat up, looking around in the windowless room that was lit only by the Hulu home screen. He looked down at Altair who was sleeping still. What fucking time was it?

Desmond found his iphone on the table and checked the time. It was ten in the morning. He had a few texts from Clay. They could wait though.“Hey,” he nudged Altair gently.

“What?” Altair grumbled.

“Wake up.”

“Whyyy?” he complained and sort of tugged on Desmond’s arm as if to say to go back to sleep.

“Cause I need to go home.”

Altair sighed and opened his eyes, shit he was really cute when he just woke up, all sleepy and bleary eyed. “No,” he said stubbornly.

“Yes.”

“No, stay with me,” and Desmond wanted to. God damn he wanted to.

“Can’t. Not that I wouldn’t _love_ to but I have to go to work in like an hour.”

“Uuuuuhg,” Altair complained, “that’s in an hour though,” he said.

“Yeah but I need to shower, get dressed and shit.”

Altair finally sat up and immediately put his head on Desmond’s shoulder, “You can shower here,” he said sleepily, “and I can give you some clothes.”

“Altair,” Desmond huffed.

“What?” Altair asked, looking over at him, “Not like you don’t like wearing my clothes.”

“I did that _once_ and it was an accident,” Desmond frowned. Altair just kinda hummed in a ‘yeah, whatever’ sort of way where it was clear he didn’t believe that for a second. “Also you should make me breakfast.”

Altair sighed a little, “Fine,” he said. “Shower, then breakfast,” and he rolled off the couch, his shirt had ridden up in the back and Desmond appreciated it a lot. He grabbed Desmond by the hands and dragged him off the bed, “You’re coming with though,” he said, meaning the shower.

“Won’t hear me complain,” Desmond said grinning and went to Altair’s bathroom. Altair undressed slowly, but without any thought to the fact that Desmond was basically staring at him. Literally the most useless hot guy in existence. Desmond bet Altair didn’t even care that he was good looking. It was like, oh the sky is blue, I’m also incredibly attractive who cares moving on. Except Desmond cared, he cared a lot because Altair was a. his boyfriend, b. super hot, and c. had shown up in _several_ dreams since November.

Altair glanced at him, “Going to undress or what?”

“Uh-“ Desmond hadn’t even taken off his shirt. He’d been so distracted by Altair’s body.

“What? Need help?” Altair asked and naked took a step over to him, tugging on the hem of his shirt and Desmond was made aware of how incredibly turned on he was right now. Altair was usually so fucking _prickly_ , so to see him not be was weirdly arousing.

“You’re really awful you know that right?” Altair cocked his head at him.

“So is that a no?”

“Like, do you just think of ways to frustrate me?” Altair snorted, “Well?”

“No,” Altair said with a grin, “But I won’t deny how _easy_ it is. Now really, are you going to get naked or what?”

No way this wasn’t going to end with someone touching someone else’s dick. No way it wasn’t. Even if Desmond had to touch his own, because damn was Altair so fucking unfair. One day he was going to get tired of the butterflies Altair gave him; but today was not that day. “Yeah,” and Altair let go of his shirt to turn on the water. Desmond practically threw his clothes off and winced at seeing the imprint of jeans on his legs and where his belt had dug into his skin in his sleep. Good job idiot, he thought to himself.

Altair stepped into the shower once it was clearly warm enough and Desmond followed. Like the last time they’d showered together it was surprisingly non sexual. They washed each other’s hair- which by the way was literally the _best_ feeling Desmond had ever felt in his entire life and that included an orgasm- and Altair just rolled his eyes when Desmond gave them both shampoo mohawks. Altair washing him was also methodical but clinical, and that wasn’t going to fly today. If Altair noticed Desmond’s chub he was choosing to ignore it, which was frustrating cause all he wanted was Altair to touch his fucking dick.

When it was Desmond’s turn he followed Altair’s example and just washed him. Till he got to the belt area at least. Altair wasn’t interested like Desmond was by their intimacy, at least until Desmond made more than a courteous pass on his cock and balls. Desmond heard the inhale over the sound of the water and that was what he was hoping for. “You’re really not getting to work on time,” Altair said.

“I’ll live somehow,” Desmond said and changed the grip of his hand to be with more purpose. “Tell me you don’t like it,” he challenged.

“I do,” Altair said with a pleased grin and Desmond grinned and kissed him when Altair returned the favor. God was real that was all Desmond had to say on this situation. Altair let Desmond push him back against the tiled wall and that was awesome. Like just absolutely awesome. 

Altair was slow as he jerked Desmond off, full coverage from balls to helmet and it was frustrating. In a good way though. His own hand was moving quickly and Altair was much shorter breaths than Desmond was and had one arm around Desmond’s shoulders. He could vaguely remember that first drunken time, and Altair probably wouldn’t have minded doing either position, and right now he looked it. And fuck Desmond wanted him _so_ bad right now like it was just unfair. He wanted to learn all the little sounds he made and if he bit pillows or scratched Desmond’s back or ripped sheets. So not the time unfortunately, but looking at Altair’s breathy, flushed, face, eyes lidded, his tongue licking his lips over and over again Desmond knew he’d need to know sooner rather than later.

“Like this, like this,” Altair said breathlessly and Desmond groaned when Altair pulled their hips together and wrapped his hand around both of them. Altair was looking at his collar bone but now and then he’d glance up at Desmond and they’d both blush. Sex was one thing, but this was a different sort of intimate they hadn’t done before. Not just ‘hey you’re super fine, lets fuck’ and that made it so much fucking better.

Desmond wasn’t surprised when he came first, he’d been ready quicker and the hot, flushed, warmth of Altair’s cock pressed against his, made him maybe _too_ excited. He pressed his face into Altair’s neck, breathing hard, his legs feeling weak and shaky, once he’d finished, holding onto Altair firmly. His ended up kissing all over Altair’s neck and finishing Altair up himself after that and didn’t let him move until he was good and ready to let him. Altair just had his arms around his neck, using the wall to support him the same way Desmond was using Altair to support him, and greatly enjoyed the attention.

Then Desmond extracted himself from Altair and Altair _definitely_ had a red mark on his neck. Not like the giant hickey he’d given Desmond that had gotten him eight shades of grounded, but it’d be there for at least a day or two. “Well that was fun,” Desmond said cheerfully.

“I’ll say,” Altair had a really pleased, dumb, look on his face. They rinsed the cum off and finished washing before getting out of the shower. “But really you’re going to be so late for work.”

“Oh well,” Desmond shrugged. “Why do you just have random, unopened, toothbrushes?” he asked when Altair handed him one.

“I save them when I go to the dentist… don’t even ask okay I don’t throw out perfectly good things.”

“You literally live in a mansion you could _buy_ them.”

Altair shrugged, “Also useful when I have boys over I want to kiss in the morning but don’t like morning breath,” and turned on his own electric toothbrush.

Desmond paused as he squeezed toothpaste out onto the brush and looked at Altair in the mirror. “That was totally a hint wasn’t it?”

“That was totally a hint,” Altair said around his brush, raising his brows a bit. Desmond then went about brushing, for as long as Altair did, which was an _abnormally_ long time. Finally though he could spit and rinse without feeling too weird and once Altair had done the same he found himself being kissed with tongue and yeah this was why you made sure you had at least not disgusting breath. Altair tasted all minty and it was awesome.

“Work,” Desmond said before the making out went on too long.

“Right, right,” Altair said, “Lemmie find you something to wear,” and they went back out to Altair’s room. “Go grab your phone so you can charge it a bit,” he added as he opened his closet.

“Right,” Desmond said and found his way back to the theater room and grabbed his phone. Altair directed him to a changer on a set of shelves from when he’d has an iPhone and Desmond plugged it in. Then Altair gave him some clothes, a nice polo with a pair of khaki shorts and underwear. “Do you wear shorts?” Desmond asked, “Like, not swim shorts.”

“Sometimes,” Altair shrugged as he pulled on his own clothes, sweats and a T shirt, not even any underwear and that thought was going to distract Desmond all _day_.

“Like these?” he looked down at the shorts he was wearing.

“Mhm,” Altair said, leaving the room, Desmond followed knowing breakfast was imminent. “Why?”

“No reason,” Desmond said.

Altair gave him a look, “There’s so a reason.”

“Uhh-

“Whatever,” Altair rolled his eyes and it was probably for the best since Desmond didn’t want to admit to imagining Altair in booty shorts. Like the kind the drum line wore during spirit week and had better legs than like half the girls at school. Ones that _definitely_ showed a bit of cheek. He needed to move on to a new thought before that one ruined him though. “So when is work?”

“Like forty minutes,” Desmond said.

“So real breakfast?”

“Please,” Desmond said pathetically. Altair chuckled.

“What do you want?”

“Meat,” Desmond said before he could even stop himself.

Altair gave him a side eyed look, “That’s more a dinner entree,” he said and Desmond flushed. He needed to get his brain off sex.

“Uh… I don’t know. I’m not picky, you know that.”

“Okay,” and Altair picked things from the fridge and the pantry and Desmond didn’t know what the hell he was doing other than it smelled _wonderful_. Then Altair was putting what looked like a crepe down in front of him. “I assume you eat crepes?” he asked.

“I eat anything,” Desmond said and after trying to figure the best way to eat the dang thing used a fork and knife. It was a savory crepe with mushrooms and onions and sausage and it was spicy and amazing. Altair made another one while he ate and by the time he was done with it there was another one for him. This one had fruit in it and Philadelphia fruit cream cheese. “These are fucking amazing,” he said.

“You think so? My crepes aren’t that good,” Altair shrugged.

“Says who?”

“My grandpa. He’s professionally trained in French cuisine.”

“Well your grandpa can fuck off these are fucking amazing.”

Altair smiled widely, “Want another?”

“ _Yes_. God I’m going to get so fat dating you,” and Altair laughed and then cursed and apparently had messed up because he threw away the crepe he was making. He made a new one. “I want another sweet one,” he said.

“Okay,” Altair said, still smiling and then Desmond had another delicious tube of deliciousness set in front of him.

“Yeah, so fat and I don’t even care,” Desmond said and groaned in appreciation because Altair’s food was _delicious_.Altair snickered and made another, though this one was for him.

“You have like ten minutes to get to work,” Altair said when he’d finished.

“Oh _shit!_ ” and Desmond jumped up and ran to Altair’s room and grabbed his phone, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to find a pair of socks. Though for a second he forgot where he’d put his shoes before remembering they were in the media room. Altair was eating his own breakfast when Desmond returned actually fully dressed. “Thanks for breakfast,” he said and kissed Altair on the cheek, since he was eating.

Altair grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he could go grab his jacket and helmet, finished chewing, swallowed, and kissed him before letting him go. “You should come back for dinner,” she said with a smirk and welp that destroyed Desmond’s plan on _not_ thinking about fucking Altair while at work.

“I… will think about it,” he said.

“Alright,” though Altair had that grin on his face like he knew Des was thinking about sex and that yeah they were gonna bang tonight. He went back to his breakfast. Desmond got his jacket, yanking it on. “You do look really fucking hot in a leather jacket,” Altair said, repeating what he’d said the other night at Desmond’s work.

“Maybe I should keep it on next time,” Desmond said, raising his brows.

Altair looked surprised a second, like he’d never thought of that, “Yeah,” he said and oh _god_ Desmond had not expected him to agree. “That’d be really hot.”

“Okay I’m leaving now before you _actually_ give me a boner,” Desmond said. Altair snickered. “I’ll text you while I’m on break if I’ll come over for dinner.”

“Okay,” Altair said leaning on the counter. Which wasn’t a problem until Desmond headed for the door and realized he had a _perfect_ profile view of Altair bent over and the curve of his back.

“Seriously, fuck you,” Desmond said, Altair just grinned.

“You should-

“I’m leaving now!” and Altair laughed after Desmond as he opened the door and left. “Holy shit,” he said to himself once he was on the other side. “Holy shit…” he checked his phone, “Shit!” he was going to be late. He got his bike started quickly and blasted out of there, praying there were no cops on the way to Cudjoe because he would have so been pulled over.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gold star comments make things happen okay?


	54. Chapter 54

Desmond got home from work exhausted. It had been _so_ busy at work today and it wasn’t until he got out of the shower and was raiding the fridge for a pudding cup that he saw the note on the door of the fridge. ‘Out for the night, don’t burn the house down. Go to bed at a  reasonable hour. xoxo’ Desmond knew that was code for his parents being gone until tomorrow because thankfully his parents didn’t have sex when Desmond was around because they would be about as mortified of Desmond hearing them as Desmond would be of hearing it.

Sweet.

He immediately took off his pants. No parents no pants, it was the life Desmond lived and life was good. Attached to the note was two twenties for take out or for him to go get something. “Excellent,” Desmond said, mouth full of pudding and tugged them down from the fridge. He went back to his room and collapsed onto his bed tiredly and turned on his Playstation and checked his phone which he had plugged into his laptop. It was charging since it’d died while he was at work and he turned it on while he signed onto his Playstation.

Desmond started when his phone blew up and quickly laid out, nearly falling off his bed to do so, to check his texts. The ones from Clay were, ‘so how’d it go with Connor?’ ‘that bad?’ ‘or maybe good since I assume you’re with Altair?’ ‘text me tomorrow k?’ ‘yo, Des, wtf where you at? Why’s your phone off? :c?’

‘Phone died while at work. I’ll tell you about it later.’

Next he checked his other messages, he had one from his dad that just said ‘thks for letting us knw ur staying w/ shaun’ which he’d gotten last night but missed seeing it. His dad was such a useless texter like damn.

The few others were from Altair. ‘So coming over for dinner?’ Well shit he’d forgotten. ‘Miles you answering your phone?’ ‘Shit your phone probably died. Text me when you get home, I want my clothes back in a timely manner this time lol’

Desmond stared at the last part. Never in a thousand years did he tag Altair as the type of dude who’d end a text with ‘lol’. The only person he knew who did that was Rebecca and sometimes his mom. ‘You seriously lold at me.’

Altair replied quickly, ‘I am known to find you amusing.’

‘I’m home btw’

‘So I gathered. Coming for dinner?’

‘I’m super tired from work. Also parents left me money for food.’

‘As in, they aren’t there?’

‘Yeah?’

Clay replied between that, ‘Call?’

‘Sure’

Clay called him a moment later, “Yo,” Desmond said.

“Hey, so what happened? Everything okay? Was there crying?”

“No crying, as far as I know,” Desmond said, “Connor bailed right after I told him though.”

“You blame him?”

“No,” Desmond said slowly and then sighed, “I was trying not to think about it.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Clay said, “but its over with. So what’d you do after Connor left.”

Desmond got a dumb grin on his face, “I went over to Altair’s.”

“ _Oh_? And what, pray tell, did you do?” Clay asked.

“We had brownies and fell asleep watching Master Chef-

“That is so _boring!_ ” Clay cried.

“Fuck you I enjoyed myself!” and then his phone beeped alerting him to a text message. “Hold on,” and he checked it. It was a picture of Altair’s car and it took Desmond several seconds to figure out what it meant. Clay was busy ranting about how Desmond never had any interesting gossip when Desmond cut in, “He just sent me a pic.”

“Please tell me dick pic. I am holding out for the first dick pic here,” Clay said.

“You are _way_ too invested in my relationship for it to be healthy man.”

“I am having a hot, gay, boyfriend vicariously through you since my hot significant other doesn’t have a dick,” Clay said sarcastically.

“Well she could-

“She’s not into it.”

“Terribly sorry.”

Me too. Now what was it?”

“You know that really dumb internet meme-

“You mean all of them-

“Would you shut up for like ten fucking seconds!” Clay chucked, but he said nothing. Thank _god_. Fucking idiot. “The iPhone message one where one person is like ‘come over’ and the other is ‘I’m busy’ and then they say ‘my parents aren’t home’ and they text a picture of something ridiculous to emphasize how hard they’re coming over.”

“Yeah?” Clay asked.

“Altair just did that.”

Clay was silent for a second, “Desmond,” he said in a very serious tone, “I don’t mean to alarm you but I think your boyfriend might be a complete fucking dweeb.” Desmond laughed at that, putting his face in his pillow to not blow out Clay’s ears. “You text him back?”

“I’ve been talking to you.”

“Oh. He coming over?”

“I dunno,” Desmond shrugged.

“Seriously?”

“I’m tired okay! Shit a guy can be tired and not want sex sometimes it does happen,” he huffed.

“I _guess_ ,” his text beeped again. He glanced at it briefly and it just said ‘so?’. He’d get to it in a second. “Anything else?”

“Well unless you know what’s up with Connor, no.”

“Nope,” Clay said.

“How was Miami?”

“I hate shopping dude. Lucy tried on like no less than fifty pairs of shoes and only bought one pair,” Clay groaned.

“How long did she let you stay in Gamestop?”

Clay was quiet a second knowing he’d been caught, “Like almost forty-five minutes while she went into some smelly soap store.”

“See, not all bad.”

“Don’t make it sound like I enjoyed myself,” Clay growled.

“You did cause you like spending time with your girlfriend even if you’re weak as shit when it comes to shopping.”

“You’re as weak!”

“Please,” Desmond rolled his eyes, “I can enjoy it.”

“Uhg,” Clay groaned, “Okay. Bye, done with this conversation.”

Desmond chuckled, “Bye, Clay,” and they hung up and Desmond could focus on Altair’s texts.

‘I’m super tired’

‘So?’

‘I dunno how much fun I’ll be’

The reply took longer than usual, like Altair was trying to figure out what to say without sounding like he was fully thinking with his dick. ‘I liked last night just fine too.’ ‘Plus takeout is better when you share it’

‘You sound so sure’

‘As someone who’s eaten a lot of takeout, I can tell you it always tastes better when you realize you didn’t eat a whole lo mien by yourself.’

‘Lol k’ ‘you can come over’

‘Where do you live?’

‘Boca Chica base’

‘How will I get on?’

‘I’ll come get you’

‘Sounds good!’

Desmond sighed and put on pants and then shuffled around a bit before walking down to the front gate. He knew the guard on duty, a PFC with a long face that Desmond only knew by his velcro patch that said Hennigan. “PFC,” he said as he got off near the guard post.

“Mr. Miles,” PFC Hennigan said, giving him a simple nod. Desmond grimaced, but not much he could do about that. “What can I do for you?”

“I have a friend coming to visit.”

“All right,” he nodded. “What’s the nature of their visit.”

“Just to hang out, nothing terribly interesting.”

PFC Hennigan gave Desmond a shrewd look, “Are they like your friends that come by once a week?”

“Yeah,” Desmond grinned. “Well, he’s a guest.”

PFC Hennigan gave him another look, “All right. He’s a friend?” Desmond nodded, “He registered?”

“Not yet. This is his first time visiting,” Desmond said, “we’re gonna go to the VCC as soon as he gets here.”

“Sounds in order,” PFC Hennigan said and they waited until Altair’s red Mercedes pulled up to the gate, the driver’s side window down. Desmond waved. PFC Hennigan leaned down a bit to see into the window, “Name and purpose?” he asked.

“Uh, Altair, I’m here to see him,” he pointed at Desmond. PFC Hennigan looked at Desmond for approval and Desmond nodded rapidly.

“Make sure he gets registered at the VCC,” PFC Hennigan said and opened the gate.

“I will,” Desmond said as Altair drove through but stopped just inside. Desmond went around to the other side of the car and got in.

“So-

“Drive that way,” Desmond said, pointing. “You need to get a pass and have your car registered at the base.”

“Okay,” Altair said slowly and drove.

The VCC was like most of the buildings on the base, squat, grey, and ugly and the inside was as military issue as they came. William had, when they’d first moved here, given written authorization for Desmond to be able to register any of his friends so long as they looked to be the same age as his son. So all that needed to happen was they gave Altair a badge he could show the front gate whenever he wanted to get in, and had him write all his car information down for their records as cars not registered were likely to be searched and towed without notice. Desmond made sure Altair got on the guest list too unlike all but Clay who was just on the visitor list, meaning he could stay the night or even spend several days over. Though Desmond didn’t see that happen and except the time Desmond and Clay had played the entire campaign of Halo from Halo one all the way to Halo four across two different gaming stations over three days had anyone every stayed longer than just overnight.

Altair was looking at his pass badge as they left the VCC, and a sticker he needed to put somewhere in view for patrols to see. “I don’t have to actually put this on my car do I?” Altair asked as they got into the car.

Desmond took the sticker and put it up on the dashboard, “Nope. Dylan and Duncan always bring rentals when they visit and you can’t put stickers on those. So long as the sticker is visible.”

“Okay good,” Altair said, “So which way?”

“That way,” Desmond pointed right for the most part.

“You live here?” Altair asked as they pulled up to the house.

“Yeah. Why?” Altair said nothing, clearly to refrain from saying something insulting. “You expected bigger?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Not everyone lives in a big house.”

“I know,” Altair said, “Forget I even mentioned it. No doubt its fine,” and they got out of the car.

Desmond was weirdly nervous about showing Altair his home. They didn’t keep a lot of _stuff_ to decorate. No paintings or nick nacks or art or anything. Mainly just family photos. When you moved every few years you just kinda learned to not keep a lot of stuff. Not like Altair’s house which was awesome. Altair didn’t comment though except to say, “You should really paint the walls white is so boring.”

“My mom keeps meaning to but we’re always too busy,” Desmond grimaced. “Down here,” Desmond said and led Altair to his room. 

His room was pretty clean but Desmond suddenly felt like it was a mess, even though it was just Altair’s clothes sprawled on the floor. Desmond’s room was like a Tetris nightmare, with shelves carefully layered with books of the comic, manga, and novel variety, in front of which were action figures or Lego sets he’d put together. His walls had posters of his favorite movies and one or two hot, shirtless, guys because well he was gay as hell why wouldn’t he have eye candy in his room? His new and old laptop and iPad were in a neat stack on his desk which was cluttered with homework and his trashcan was overflowing with paper from math and english homework. The TV was carefully set between his bookcase and his dresser on a media table, his Playstation under it and the previous gen counsels he had next to the sides and out of the way. His games were crammed in whatever space was left there and a few of the cases also lay scattered on the floor, open, but empty, the discs laying shiny side up on the top of the media cabinet.

“Looks like a clean version of Yusuf’s room,” was Altair’s only comment. “I consider being able to see the floor of kids’ my age’s room a win,” he told Desmond.

“Seriously?”

“All my friends are disgusting,” Altair said looking around still, taking it all in, including the heavy curtains to keep the sunlight out. Not like Desmond ever opened the windows except in the dead of Florida winter anyway. “I like it,” he said, “you put a lot of time into what you like.”

Desmond deflated all at once, for some reason so glad that Altair found his room acceptable. Well they’d probably be fucking in it so he _hoped_ it was acceptable. “Lots of wasted money more like,” Desmond said with a casual roll of his eyes. He sat on his bed and Altair joined him and kicked off his shoes. “So my dad left me forty bucks, what should we order?”

“Pizza’s always good,” Altair said.

“Mmm, yeah,” Desmond agreed.

“I think Big Johns delivers out here too. They make _killer_ pie.”

“Never had it-

“You’re having it tonight then!” Altair said seriously and Desmond chuckled.

“Okay,” he said grinning. “You hungry now?” Altair shrugged, not really. “So what do you wanna do till we’re hungry?”

Altair looked him up and down, “I had a few things in mind.”

“Of _course_ you did.”

“You’re the one who brought it up this morning.”

Desmond leaned back tiredly, “I’m not really in the mood,” he admitted and yawned. “Work was killer for some reason today. I just wanna eat, finish my homework and go to bed.”

“Sure,” Altair said. “Your Playstation got Hulu?”

“Mhm,” Desmond nodded.

“You ever heard of Almost Human?”

“No,” Desmond said.

“Hot black guy with blue eyes is one of the leads.”

“I’m listening,” Desmond said, finding the controller and going to Hulu.

“Its also pretty gay,” Altair said. Desmond gave him a look, “There’s literally a ball scanning joke in the first three episodes and they talk about sex a lot. It is _pretty_ fucking gay. Also Bones from reboot Star Trek is in it.”

Desmond looked at Altair and was just, not in love, but so incredibly infatuated. ‘Talk nerdy to me’ really was a turn on and while it wasn’t really ‘nerd’ stuff coming from a guy like Altair he might as well have been talking about the epic romance between Kirk and Spock in The Original Series. “Sounds like fun,” Desmond said searching for it and playing the first episode. Desmond got up to turn off the light before finding a comfortable spot on the bed with Altair.

 


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which I continue to write them being sickeningly adorable new couple in the honeymoon phase lol

At some point Desmond must have dozed off because he found himself waking up. He felt warm and there was a pleasant warmth all down his beck and the side of his neck. He hummed in his sleep and moved to stretch a bit only to find his body twisted up in someone else’s. “Eh?” he looked behind him and blinked a few times, but not really seeing, who was behind him. Then the vague shapes formed a face and Desmond had to remind himself that Altair was _supposed_ to be there.

“I fell sleep,” he said groggily.

Altair just chuckled and that was a wonderful sound to wake up to. “Yeah you did,” he said softly and kissed Desmond’s neck.

Desmond made an appreciative noise, “Mmm, do that some more,” and he got himself comfortable again on his side. Altair kissed his neck, up to his ear and down to his shoulder and it was just in all really nice. Why hadn’t he had a boyfriend before this? Boyfriends were great. Barring Alex of course. Alex had _not_ been great.

“Should we order pizza?” Altair asked, still kissing Desmond’s skin.

“Mhmmm,” Desmond said.

“Bad news is that they don’t deliver.”

“Damn. Does this mean I have to get up?”

“If you want excellent pizza I’m afraid so,” Altair said.

Desmond sighed, “Fiiiine,” he groaned like he was doing Altair a favor and Altair chuckled.

“Also your phone went off a few times while you were out.”

“Yeah?” Desmond twisted around and grabbed his phone, yanking on it to pull it off the cord. “Fucking Clay,” he grumbled when he saw who’d texted him. ‘Altair come over?’ ‘dude’ ‘Dude’ ‘DUDE!!!!’

“Never a dull moment with him huh?” Altair asked, clearly reading over his shoulder.

“Oh, you have no idea. He used to be that friend who called you at three in the morning to talk about goats.”

“Goats?”

“It happened,” Desmond said, rolling onto his back. He was about to text Clay back when Altair ran his hand up his chest under his shirt and he shivered all over. “Holy shit, man,” he said, looking at Altair.

“What?” Altair asked innocently, “I’m allowed to touch right?” Desmond couldn’t tell if Altair was honestly worried he’d done something wrong or not.

“Ah— yeah,” Desmond said in agreement after a second. Because why was he complaining? Get with the _program_ Desmond. “Yeah you’re _totally_ allowed to touch,” he assured him.

“Okay,” and Altair was _definitely_ feeling him up under his shirt. He swallowed and looked at his phone. ‘I fell asleep. Took a nap. What is your deal?’

‘DUDE!!!!’ was Clay’s reply and Desmond groaned.

“What?” Altair asked and Desmond realized his shirt had been pushed up to his chest and he knew Altair was fit and toned as shit and he was just… not chubby but he didn’t have any muscles at all so he was just, well, _flabby_. Fuck what was he even doing with this guy?

“Clay’s an idiot, that’s all,” Desmond said. “So uh, pizza?”

“Yeah, I’m hungry,” Altair removed his hand and Desmond tugged his shirt back down as Altair crawled out from around him. Altair stretched, cracking his back and Desmond enjoyed the view of his back when his shirt rode up a bit. Totally, and completely unfair.

“Heeey,” Desmond said as Altair was putting on his shoes.

“Hmm?” Altair asked, looking at him nearly upside down.

“Can you take your shirt off?”

“Uh— why?”

“Cause I wanna see the goods duh,” Desmond said. Altair snorted and when he stood up he grabbed the back of the collar of his shirt and just pulled it right off. “You know, one day I’m going to just be used to this view,” Desmond said.

“Today’s not that day?”

“Today is _so_ not that day,” Desmond said cause Altair was just so _fucking hot_ and had abs and the fucking muscles along your rib cage and a defined V where he could see some veins and big fucking shoulders and arms. He had a scar from where he’d had his appendix taken out and unlike some guys Desmond had slept with wasn’t hairless. He had a happy trail and some hair on his chest and god he was just so hot Desmond could literally not get over it.

“No fuck you,” Desmond said when Altair flexed a little.

“I think so,” Altair grinned, and he didn’t do any cheesy poses he just was very clearly flexing his muscles on his stomach and arms.

“Ahg,” Desmond pressed a hand to his face, “You’re gonna put an eye out with those!”

Altair chuckled, “Sure I will. Now c’mon you got to ogle, I still have a hunger only delicious pizza can satisfy,” and when Desmond looked Altair was tugging his shirt back on.

“Okay,” and Desmond got out of bed and changed out his sweats and put on his flip flops. “You’re driving,” he said grabbing his phone and his wallet.

“Well your bike only seats one, so sure,” Altair said and Altair followed him out of the house and Desmond got into the Mercedes. “Wanna see a movie after? Its almost seven.”

“I have homework I still have to do,” Desmond sighed, “so no. Not tonight.”

“Okay,” Altair said starting the car. As they drove out of the base, a different PFC standing guard, Altair said, “Am I spending the night?”

“Uh-

“Or are your parents coming home?”

“They’ll be home tomorrow,” Desmond said. “They’re having a date night,” and Altair grimaced with him, knowing what that had to mean.

“So?”

“I mean, if you want. Not tired of me after spending all day with me yet?”

“I think that’s the point of going out with someone. You don’t get tired of spending all day with them.”

“Loser,” Desmond said.

Altair gave him a look as they started over the bridge to Stock Island, “Nerd,” he said and Desmond snickered.

They arrived at the pizza place, Big Johns, shortly after. It was in the Kmart center that had been completely refurbished from the ground up a few years ago after hurricane Wilma flooded the entire place with salt water. Just like it had everywhere else on the island. That had been _fun._ Hearing about twelve foot storm surge rising up and destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars in property, and cars catching on fire and driving down roads piled ten feet high with garbage and debris ruined from the storm.

It was nice inside, and _very_ Italian chiche. It smelled nice at least. There was a cute girl at the counter to take their orders and next to the counter was a display case with various pizzas both New York thin style and deep dish style ones. “Hello, what can I get you guys today?” she asked but Desmond was staring up at the menu with was a board mounted above them, proclaiming all the things.

“I think we need a minute,” Altair said.

“No problem,” she said.

“I take it its all good?” Desmond asked.

“Yeap.”

“Should we just get a whole pizza, or slices?”

“The slices are pretty big so I’d say just slices.”

“Okay, hmmm. Okay I know what I want,” and he approached the counter. The girl smiled at him. “I want two slices, one with mushrooms and pepperoni, and the other one of those,” he pointed to a meat lover’s deep dish behind the display glass. “And a soda,” he added.

“Alright is that all?”

“And whatever he wants,” he said motioning to Altair.

“Miles, I can get my own-

“Nope. You bought last time,” Desmond said.

“Miles-

“Altair,” he gave Altair a look, “you made breakfast, I get to buy dinner.”

“Your dad’s buying it,” Altair grumbled.

“And your grandpa would be buying it otherwise. Whatever he wants,” he told the cashier who grinned at them.

Altair huffed, but did order. “Two slices of pepperoni, and a basket of mozzarella sticks— and a soda,” he added.

“Okay,” she said and rang them in, Desmond handed her the money his dad had given him. “Here you go you can have a seat and we’ll come give you your food,” she said handing them both cups and Desmond the change. Desmond thanked her and they got their drinks before going and sitting down.

It wasn’t until then that Desmond realized how _awkward_ this was. They’d had sex before the whole getting to know you part of the relationship so while Desmond knew that Altair fucked like a champ he didn’t… really know anything about Altair. Altair seemed to realize this shortly after he did and the silence quickly became slightly uncomfortable.

“Well,” Desmond said, “this is weird.”

“Yeah kinda,” Altair agreed.

“I can’t even say this is the longest time we’ve been in the same space without you groping me,” and Altair snorted as he was taking a drink and it nearly came out of his nose.

“Don’t, make me laugh when I’m drinking. I spit.”

“Really I thought you swallowed.”

There was a silence after that, “I’ll give you that one,” Altair said taking a sip of his drink and Desmond snickered. “Good conversation though? Maybe not about school, or what I may or may not do to your dick later tonight,” and Desmond did flush a little.

Desmond leaned back, slumping against the booth. “I dunno,” he confessed. “Like I honestly don’t even know what we have in common to talk about other than that we both like dick,” he said and Altair winced. “What? You’re out remember.”

“I know,” Altair said, still sounding pained, “I’m just… not used to it. Could you go a little easy on me?”

“I guess,” Desmond huffed. “So, when you’re not at school, what do you do?” Desmond asked, moving the conversation along.

“Play video games, read, work out,” he shrugged. “I’m pretty boring honestly.”

“What do you like to read?” Desmond asked, honestly _any_ information about Altair was good information. He knew exactly _nothing_ about Altair.

“Historical fiction I guess,” Altair said, half shrugging, not making eye contact. “And like, horribly domestic slice of life stuff.”

Desmond squinted at him a second, there was something else that Altair wasn’t telling him. Something super embarrassing. But he didn’t know what, not yet at least. “That’s cool, what’s your favorite story?”

“Uuuh,” and man Altair seemed _so_ uncomfortable about that question, “Nothing you probably heard of,” he said.

“Yeah so? Tell me,” he said sincerely.

“Well,” Altair said slowly, thinking hard, “One I’m rereading recently is called The Proper Care of Actors.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I’ve never heard of it,” Desmond laughed, “Give me another one, maybe I know it,” he coaxed.

“A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold,” Altair said.

“I think you just made that up,” Desmond said.

“No, I’ve read it,” Altair assured him. “Like I said, you probably haven’t heard of them.”

“Yeah,” and then a man came and put paper plates with pizza down in front of them along with a basket of deep fried cheesy goodness. Altair was right too, the slices were big.

“What do you do? Besides work,” Altair said, changing the subject.

“Game,” Desmond said and tried to take a bite of his pizza but found it way too hot. “Ride my bike around, hang out with my friends,” he shrugged, “I’m not very interesting either.”

“What do you play?” Altair asked.

“Everything,” Desmond scratched an itch on the top of his hand. “Shooters, RPGs, platformers, adventure games. I just play anything. I get bored easy,” he shrugged. “Though I’ve been filling most of my time recently with college applications.”

“Yeah? Where you wanna go?”

Desmond was right in the middle of eating and chewed quickly. “Miami,” he said. “I have all my community service, I have the grades, I’m getting a full ride.”

“You get in yet?”

“Uh… no,” he admitted. “But I got a two thousand on my SATs so I’ll get in for sure,” 

“Wow, that’s better than mine,” Altair said.

“Yeah, what’d you get?” Desmond asked, stuffing his face with more pizza.

“Sixteen fifty,” Altair grimaced, “I’m not good at taking tests.”

“Really? You have an awesome GPA though.”

“I dunno,” Altair shrugged, “Stresses me out. Not that I need to get a high score to get into the school I wanna go to.”

“And what’s that?”

“Le Cordon Bleu or Keiser,” Altair said, “I like food.”

“Me too,” and Altair humored him when he asked for a high five. “I _really_ like food.”

“I never would have guessed,” Altair said sarcastically, looking at Desmond’s plate. Desmond had sucked down a slice and a half and half the mozzarella sticks.

“What don’t judge me.”

“You won’t need me to get fat-

“Hey,” Desmond complained, “I also run,” he said.

“Really?” Desmond nodded, “Like, fast? Or endurance?”

“Endurance. I’ve done the Seven Mile Bridge Run every year since I moved here. But yeah, I run a lot, though I haven’t recently.” He needed to get back into it actually.

“Hopefully you’re a better runner than volleyball player.”

“Thankfully you’re a better kisser than volleyball player,” Desmond said snidely.

“I don’t think that was as insulting as you thought it was,” Altair said.

“You beamed me in the face with a volleyball,” Desmond said.

“It was an _accident_ ,” Altair said. “You’re not like… mad about that are you?” he added.

“No,” Desmond shook his head. “Well, at first kinda cause you broke my sunglasses,” and Altair grimaced. “Its fine though I bought new ones,” he waved it off. 

There was another silence, this time filled with eating. It was still kinda weird. Desmond didn’t really know how to talk to Altair. They were so _different_ and yeah they had a few things in common but really it was just one thing other than that they were both gay and Desmond didn’t know how to really open up without sounding like he was dominating the conversation, or just talking about himself. Altair wasn’t a conversation guy even to begin with either and he was sure had as hard a time talking as Desmond did. This is what he got for dating the guy he’d previously just fooled around with.

“So you have homework,” Altair said finally, “but your parents aren’t home.”

“Yeah,” Desmond said.

“Am I allowed to stay or?”

“If you want you can I guess,” Desmond shrugged.

“Okay. I need to stop at my house on the way back, get a change of clothes.”

“Sure, sure,” Desmond nodded. “And you were right, that was awesome,” he said looking down at the empty plates and basket.

“Told you,” Altair grinned.

“Why do I have a feeling you know where all the good places are?”

“Oh I totally do.”

“Lets stop at Publix before going back, I wanna get some stuff.”

“Okay,” Altair said and they got up, threw away their trash and went out to Altair’s car. They took the back way to the Publix shopping center and Desmond told Altair to stay in the car cause he’d just be a second. Altair didn’t complain.

Desmond calmed himself down when he went into the store and went to the ice cream aisle. He bought Snickers ice cream because it was necessary before going to where they had the shampoos and soaps and tampons. Only he wasn’t interested in those.

He hadn’t bought condoms in like two years. Alex never fucking bought condoms, he expected Desmond to keep them around since they never fooled around at Alex’s house. Plus was he got to buy the ones he liked. Any fling he’d had was at someone else’s place to, so he had no reason to buy new ones once he threw out Alex’s during a thorough room cleaning. And there were about as many choices for condoms as there were for how you wanted pizza and Desmond just stared at the section for a few moments, trying to figure out what box he wanted. He needed to figure it out soon, before the ice cream melted too.

Finally Desmond just picked some basic ones, in a size that would fit either of them and went to go pay. The girl behind the register rose her brows at him in a ‘oh someone’s getting lucky tonight’ sort of way but that was it. The ice cream and the condoms were both thrown into a plastic bag and Desmond went back to Altair’s car where Altair was looking intently at his phone.

“Miss anything?” Desmond asked, sliding into the seat next to Altair.

“Nope,” Altair said, putting his phone away. “What’d you get?”

“Ice cream,” Desmond said, showing Altair the top.

“Ice cream two days in a low?” Altair asked as he backed out of the space.

“What about the ‘I like food’ thing did you not get?” and Altair chuckled . Despite himself Desmond kept thinking about the box of condoms, even though they probably weren’t going to use them. He’d told Altair he was tired and he was but… sex was nice.

They stopped at Altair’s house so Altair could get some clothes and probably what he needed for school tomorrow. Desmond looked at his phone, no messages, good. Clay had found someone else to bother. Desmond waited and thankfully didn’t have to wait long. Altair came back and threw his backpack and a reusable shopping bag into the back seat before getting in. “All set?” Desmond asked.

“Yeap,” Altair said backing out of the long driveway.


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi  
> honeymoon phase isn't ending any time soon m'kay  
> so I hope you like SUPER CUTE AltDes and if you don't idc

Desmond was doing his homework, very aware of Altair sitting on his bed, using his laptop. But it wasn’t weird. Altair had his headphones in and was watching YouTube videos while Desmond worked and played quiet music over his speakers. They’d eaten the pint of ice cream while watching something on the TV in the living room and then Desmond had wanted to do homework.

Now here they were and Desmond was finishing up his homework. He’d done all of it except the reading. He always saved that for last because he hated reading. He just _hated_ reading even though he’d read game subtitles all day and the little extra notes in Dishonored you found. But sitting down and reading a passage for school? Absolute torture. He’d rather be maimed.

Desmond put away his text books and notebooks but kept out the book he had to read. The Poisonwood Bible, a boring story about some white mission people going to Africa to bring Christianity to poor black people who really didn’t want them around either. It was turn of the century and Desmond hated it. He picked up the book, which was about the thickness of a phonebook ten years ago, and went over to his bed.

Altair looked up at him when he came over, “All done?” he asked, taking off one headphone.

“I just have to read a few chapters of this damn book,” Desmond said, sitting down. “But I don’t wanna cause I hate it and hate reading and uhg,” he flopped down on the pillow.

“Which ones?” Altair asked.

“The first three chapters of book three, its like the teacher wants to kill us,” Desmond said dramatically, pouting at the ceiling. Altair picked the book up from Desmond’s chest and Desmond just wondered what would happen if he threw the book out the window. Like how much trouble would he get into seeing as it wasn’t his book. Outside it was also raining lightly from clouds that had moved in from the south. So he’d ruin the book. How much shit would he get for that?

He was so busy thinking about that that he started when Altair said, “The Judges. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars… They shall be thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. From Judges.” He paused a second, glanced at Desmond but Desmond didn’t stop him, he was just looking at Altair, holding the book, open to where Desmond had previously dog eared the page to show where he had to start. Altair continued, “Orlenna Price Sanderling Island, Georgia. Listen little beast. Judge me as you will, but first listen. I am your mother. What happened to us could have happened anywhere-“

Altair continued and Desmond just laid back and listened. Altair had a fantastic reading voice, clear and he didn’t mumble or talk too low and he didn’t stumble at all. Bonus was it was Desmond’s boyfriend and Desmond _loved_ hearing him talk, even if it wasn’t in that sex phone voice but shit it was still really nice. Desmond was more of an auditory guy anyway, and in general just sucked at reading and understanding what he read. Altair reading to him was easier, and so nice. Soothing even, but not enough to fall asleep to. 

They finished the first chapter before Desmond realized it and Altair stopped here. “Can I get a drink?”

“Shit, yeah sure,” Desmond jumped off the bed. “You want water or something else?”

“Just water,” Altair said. Desmond fled the room and filled a cup before going back to his room. Altair was laying out on his bed now, though trying to take up as little space as possible on Desmond’s single bed, propped up by Desmond’s pillow. Desmond handed him the water and Altair drank before putting it on the side table. Desmond climbed into the bed next to him.

“Officially I feel like I’m six when my mom used to read to me.”

“Well dear do you want me to get you some warm milk too?” Altair asked, pitching his voice up and making Desmond laugh. “If you pay attention you’ll even get a goodnight kiss.”

Desmond gave him a look, “I better get a goodnight kiss,” he grumbled. Or a kiss right now. Damn he wanted that now. Christ he was like a fucking chicken. Blink and he changed thoughts without care of what he’d just thought. And he’d missed the first paragraph of chapter two _good job_ Desmond.

Once he was paying attention he settled close to Altair and Altair moved his arm to be around Desmond’s shoulders to be more comfortable. It was awkward for Altair to turn the page but they both lived with it. Altair read the second chapter and then took another drink before starting the third one. Desmond was content to just listen, and actually pay the fuck attention, while leaning on Altair’s chest and he could hear his heartbeat. It was disgustingly romantic if Desmond did say so himself.

“And done,” Altair closed the book after dog earring the page. “Not so bad?”

“I need you to read me all my books,” Desmond said earnestly, looking up at him. Altair just kinda laughed. “Seriously I actually paid attention and I fucking hate books,” he groaned.

“It wasn’t so bad. I had to read this thing last year,” he put the Poisonwood Bible next to his glass and drank the rest. “Its more enjoyable on the second read.”

“Yeah, sure it is,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“So all your homework done?”

“Yeah,” Desmond nodded. “Don’t you have any?”

“I finished it while you were at work,” Altair said, shrugging a bit.

“Oh what now?” Desmond groaned when his phone started ringing. He half climbed over Altair to get to his desk and his phone. It was his dad. He put his finger to his lips to Altair and picked up. “Hey dad,” he said.

“Oh you’re still awake?”

“Uh…” Desmond looked at his alarm clock and shit it was nearly eleven, that was his weekday curfew. “I was just finishing up my homework okay? I was about to go to bed.”

“Sure you were,” William said in a knowing tone.

“Whaaaat? I was okay,” he huffed and sent Altair a dirty look at his shit eating grin.

William chuckled, “All right, Des. I was just checking in before you went to bed. You mom and I will be home after work tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Desmond said.

“Make sure you go to school.”

Desmond groaned, “Dad, Duncan and Dylan skipped; I don’t.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Goodnight dad,” Desmond said exasperatedly.

“Goodnight, your mom says goodnight too.”

“Night mom. Okay, bye, see you tomorrow,” and he hung up. “Fucking parents,” he grumbled and had to climb _back_ over Altair to plug his phone in.

“What’d he want?”

“Checking up on me.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“You’d think. Also annoying.”

Altair frowned and then said, “My gramps barely ever checks in on me when he’s gone.”

“Yeah but I’m sure your gramps thinks you can take care of yourself. I’m the family baby and my worry a lot,” Desmond rolled his eyes. Altair just shrugged, looking like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. “But I do need to get ready for bed.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. What when do you usually go to bed?”

“Like midnight or one,” Altair said.

Desmond grimaced, “Nope, not me. I need all the sleep I can get.”

“Okay,” and Altair followed him into the bathroom where he took out a toothbrush, unopened, and they brushed their teeth. Desmond didn’t feel weird about leaving Altair alone in his bathroom like he had this morning in Altair’s. He went back to his room and changed into his sleep gear, which was honestly just boxers.

Desmond put the Poisonwood Bible into his backpack and made sure he was ready to go in the morning since Desmond woke up half an hour before the first bell usually and just had everything in his backpack so he could grab breakfast and go. Then he crawled into bed. Altair had put on pajama pants while he’d been getting his shit together and turned off the light before getting in bed with Desmond. The fit was tight but Desmond wasn’t complaining about being pressed up against Altair.

“So what time do you wake up?” Altair asked.

“Like eight,” Desmond grinned.

“Do you not eat breakfast?”

“Not really, no,” Desmond said, “I just grab some granola bars and stuff.”

Altair sighed a little, “Okay.”

“Right, you eat a real breakfast,” and Altair made an affirmative noise. Desmond paused and then asked a bit cheekily, “So do I get that goodnight kiss?”

Altair chuckled, “Yes,” and Altair kissed him and _god_ that was so good. Also wasn’t going to just end at one little kiss. Altair wasn’t going to be able to get away with just kissing him once for a _while_ probably because Desmond just wanted more. It was light and sweet and Desmond’s stomach kept doing backflips, because like this morning it was an intimacy he wasn’t used to. He’d never had this. Not even with Alex he’d _never_ had this. Not the way Altair’s hand cupped the back of his neck or curled around his flank against the bed that was _kinda_ uncomfortable but worth it, or the rough breath against his face that smelled vaguely of mint. He’d never been _this_ into kissing Alex either. Like Desmond was wasting his time when he wasn’t it kinda felt like. Though that could have just been the hormones of _finally_ having a boyfriend talking.

He grunted when Altair ran his hand down his chest and around his hip, tugging him closer. Or maybe he was pushing Desmond against the wall. He couldn’t really tell.

“For the record your bed is really fucking small,” Altair told him voice rough and he cleared his throat.

“ _Terribly_ sorry,” Desmond said sarcastically. “You’ll have to live with it.”

“Okay,” Altair said softly, lips so close to Desmond’s he could feel them and Desmond kissed him because that drove him _crazy_. Fuck this guy every single fucking thing Altair did drove him crazy! “I want you,” he said when they stopped for just a second with the very important making out thing. Desmond’s mind instantly jumped to the box of condoms he’d bought and stashed on his desk so Altair wouldn’t see. Though mainly so he wouldn’t bring it up because he didn’t wanna do it. Seemed it didn’t matter, Altair had Desmond’s ass on the brain.

“Uh…” he said awkwardly, because his stance still stood.

“I know,” Altair said, “I was just… reminding you,” and though Desmond couldn’t see he knew Altair had that annoying smirk on his face.

“Oh you don’t have to remind me you want sex,” Desmond said, “Cause trust me, I want you too.”

“Then…?”

“No,” and Altair huffed.

“Fine,” he said and Desmond literally, and this was super embarrassing, squeaked, when Altair’s hand ran up the inside of his thigh. “This okay though?”

“Yes,” Desmond said, sort of excitedly. Awesome part about being gay as hell was that sex could just be awesome hand jobs and kisses in the dark. He kissed Altair again and gasped when Altair pushed his hand down the inside front of his boxers. And now he was way too excited because he couldn’t breathe. Instead Desmond just snuggled against Altair’s chest and neck.

“Someone likes that,” Altair was amused because Desmond was so into it. He was more than a little hard already. But if you had a boyfriend as hot as Altair you’d get going pretty quick too. 

“Yeah,” Desmond sighed contently. He ran his fingers down Altair’s chest and stomach, following the contours of his muscles down to his groin. Altair wasn’t just playing with him now either, he was jerking Desmond off and fuck it felt _fantastic_.

“Oh thank god,” Altair sighed when Desmond finally put his hand down Altair’s pants and groped around. Altair already had a pretty impressive chub going on and it fit neatly in Desmond’s hand. Altair’s breathing deepened and at some point he grabbed Desmond’s face, pulling it up to kiss him. It made Desmond’s toes flare and he wriggled a little. Altair let go of him and hiked Desmond’s leg over Altair’s thigh, bringing their groins closer together and Desmond felt Altair’s knuckles brush the back of his hand every now and then as he worked Altair.

“Can we do what we did this morning?” Desmond asked breathlessly and fuck he was _so_ close now. He wanted to feel the heat of Altair’s cock pressed up against his before he lost it though because he remembered that being _unbearably_ hot.

“Mhm,” was all Altair managed to get out for that and they shifted around a bit. Desmond groaned appreciably when Altair got his big hand around the both of them. “Fuck,” though that sounded annoyed by something and Altair pulled away. Desmond got a ‘wha-‘ out in complaint before Altair pulled him close again, this time he was more or less straddling Altair’s waist. Well this was a nice view, Altair under him, legs on either side of his hips, illuminated by the light coming in from the street light outside through the window and blinds. He flushed thinking about what _else_ they could do in this position. Altair fist slowed a bit, making Desmond shiver. “You thinking about what I’m thinking about?” he asked Desmond.

“That the view is nice?” Desmond asked a bit breathlessly. Altair nodded and Desmond leaned down to kiss him deeply, pushing his tongue right into Altair’s mouth without invitation. Not that he needed one of course. That was _his_ mouth to kiss the fuck out of as much as he wanted. His hips moved with Altair needily and they needed to do this position another way at some point because Desmond _did_ like the sense of power it gave him. Not even the same as the times he’d topped. It was different and he had a feeling it’d go right to his head once he rode Altair for real.

And that was the end of that. He gasped hard, managing to get out a few broken moans when he came, his hips pushing against Altair. Yeah. Cowboy was going to need to be a thing sooner rather than later. Altair managed to catch his lips and kissed all the breath out of him, continuing to jerk them both off. He knew when Altair finished when he found himself lifted off the bed a bit from Altair’s hips rising. Well that was really hot too. Everything Altair did was hot why was he even surprised? Altair let his mouth go so they could both breathe and Altair’s hand was slow against the both of them.

“Fuck you,” Desmond said.

“Hmm?”

“Now we made a mess,” and Desmond had to sit up. He made to get off the bed but Altair was still holding onto his cock and he squawked. “Le’go.”

“Hold on, I’m not done with you,” Altair said dragging him back down and kissing him. Okay that was nice but damn this guy. He’d kinda just wanted to cuddle and sleep and now he was kinda awake and wanted a ride. But he was strong and didn’t give in to the temptation. “Okay,” Altair said once he was satisfied with kissing Desmond and let him go.

Desmond nearly fell out of bed and went to find something to wipe up this damn mess. He didn’t bother turning on the light either which made it all the harder until Altair turned the flashlight on his phone on. He ended up finding some kleenex and wiped himself down before pulling his boxers back up properly and going back over to Altair. They both cleaned up that mess since Altair’s chest was all cummy and sticky.

“Okay now we’re _really_ going to sleep,” Desmond said, since now it was midnight and shit they’d made out for like an hour before having sex for the _second_ time that day.

“Okay,” Altair said with a chuckle. He tugged Desmond to him when he got into the bed and pulled Desmond’s leg over his waist again. At first Desmond was going to complain but it made the bed have a _bit_ more space for them to share so he didn’t.

“We’re going to get burn out at this rate,” Desmond said idly.

“Oh I highly doubt that,” Altair said. And yeah Altair was right. Two teenage boys? Suffering sex burnout wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

“God go the fuck to sleep,” Desmond said.

“Goodnight Miles.”

“Night loser,” and Altair snorted and nuzzled him which made Desmond’s chest swell. Fuck he was so fucking ruined by this already. His life was going to suck because he just wanted to be around Altair and life didn’t correlate so damn school was going to be _miserable_.

 


	57. Chapter 57

As usual when Desmond arrived to school he was invisible. It was amazing how he could feel like he was the center of the world to one person and then just slip back into being no one. He and Altair went to school separately, Altair had also gotten up before Desmond and despite not being at his house had made Desmond breakfast anyway. He didn’t know where Altair hung out before the first bell, and he was fine with that. Desmond didn’t want to be one of those clingy, needy, boyfriends anyway.

That didn’t mean he was looking forward to seeing _his_ friends though. He felt Clay staring at him as soon as he got close. “What?” he asked Clay when he joined his friends, though noticed Connor wasn’t around.

“Can I tell them now?” Clay asked dramatically.

“Uh…”

“He’s been like this all weekend,” Lucy said, patting Clay’s head like he was a dog.

“Tell us what?” Rebecca asked.

“Please?” Clay asked pathetically.

“Fiiiiine,” Desmond sighed.

“Yes! Desmond has a boyfriend,” Clay said proudly.

“Wow! You’re kidding,” Lucy said, “Finally,” and gave Desmond a grin.

“Is it Connor?” Rebecca asked.

“Uh… Did everyone but me know Connor liked me?” Desmond asked.

“You mean it wasn’t obvious?” Rebecca asked.

“Well yeah it was but I mean like, to ask me out,” Desmond said.

“I guess. But did he ask? He was so worked up about it on Friday.”

Desmond felt sick again. He didn’t want to break that news, especially cause Rebecca seemed stoked that her friends were going to go out. “No,” Clay said.

“Well he did,” Desmond said. “But—

“But? You just said you had a boyfriend,” Rebecca said.

Desmond was, quite literally, saved by the bell when the first bell went off. “See you at lunch!” he cried and made a hasty retreat. He was a hundred feet away when he heard Rebecca and Lucy give a confused ‘What?’ Great. Wonderful.

He didn’t have to deal with his friends until second period where he had Clay and Connor for health. Connor was there and as usual sat in front of Desmond but didn’t look at or talk to him. Not that he was expecting anything else. He and Clay spent most of the class passing notes.

How’d they take it?

They were surprised Rebecca wants a full story during lunch.

Fuck. Fine.

Lucy’s gonna hate you tho

Wat? Y??????

Cause apparently Connor asked her for advice on asking you out

I’m so fucked aren’t I?

Basically

Is it awkward or is it just me?

Kinda

Great

You turned him down what did you expect?

Idk

Dumbass

Stfu

Desmond crumpled up the note Clay sent back to him and ignored him the rest of the class. When the bell rang Connor got up and still didn’t look at him. Desmond followed him quickly, leaving Clay scrambling behind them.

“Connor,” he called, Connor didn’t turn around. “Con- Ratonhnhaké:ton,” he said, catching up to Connor just outside the pod.

That made Connor turn around, “Leave me alone,” he said and then walked off. Desmond stood there, watching him walk away feeling like he’d just been kicked.

Clay ran into him a few seconds later, pushing him out of the flow of traffic. “You okay? You look like someone just died.”

“Connor’s really mad at me,” Desmond said. He’d been dreading this for a reason. Having a weekend with Altair had made him feel so good. Now he felt like shit.

“You should let him cool off,” Clay suggested. “I’m sure he’s still hurt.”

Desmond sighed, “Yeah,” he agreed. “I guess I was hoping it wasn’t that bad.”

“It’ll work out. Now I gotta jet,” and before Desmond could say anything Clay was gone, headed for his next class. Desmond sighed and headed for his next class too.

In the middle of forth period he got a text from Altair. ‘Lunch?’

Desmond felt conflicted, on one hand yes he wanted lunch with his boyfriend who didn’t make him feel like a piece of shit for going out with his crush. On the other Clay had probably told Rebecca he’d get the whole scoop. Desmond contemplated what to tell him. He settled for, ‘Can’t’ in the end.

‘Y’

‘Wanna have lunch with my friends’

No for texts after that. At least until he was standing in line for lunch. ‘I’ll bring you something. I know where you have lunch.’

Desmond stepped out of line, walking past a confused looking Clay who was still waiting. Desmond was looking at his phone as he walked out of the cafeteria though. ‘What is it?’

‘Publix sub?’

‘Yes!’

‘What do you want?’

‘Cuban. Extra peppers, and +vinegar’

‘Okay’

Desmond put his phone away and went to where Lucy, Rebecca and Shaun were already eating their lunch by the auditorium. Rebecca, as usual, was having a lunch of energy drinks and half of Shaun’s lunch plus a bag of chips. Shaun’s mom always packed his lunch with more food than he could eat alone (probably cause she knew Rebecca would be eating it too) and Lucy had what her stepdad had brought her. Today it was Checkers hotdogs and fries.

“No lunch today?” Lucy asked.

“Ah— my boyfriend’s bringing me lunch,” and he couldn’t help the flush that spread across his face.

“Seriously?” Rebecca asked.

“Yeaaaah,” Desmond said awkwardly. Lucy and Rebecca turned to Desmond expectantly when he sat down and it didn’t take him long to start fidgeting. “What?” god he wondered if he sounded as much like a weenie as he thought he did.

“ _Well_?” Rebecca asked.

“Well what?”

“You’re dating a jock douche bag?”

“Hey,” Desmond said defensively, “He’s not a douche bag. He’s… really nice,” kinda weird, but who wasn’t? “And I asked _him_ out okay,” he huffed. Only a bit of a lie. He’d given Altair an ultimatum about their relationship and Altair had asked him but Desmond had made it happen in the end. “And it was before I knew what Connor was gonna do god don’t look at me like I’m a horrible person,” he said shrinking under Rebecca and Lucy’s disapproving looks. Though he was sure it had more to do with stomping all over Connor’s heart than him dating Altair.

“What did you tell Connor? He’s been avoiding everyone all day,” Lucy asked.

“The truth?” Desmond said.

“So you asked a guy out when you _knew_ Connor liked you?” Rebecca asked.

“A guy I liked!” Desmond cried defensively. “You sound like one of those horrible friend zone bronies. ‘Oh I liked you first and was nice to you so you owe me sex.’”

“No Desmond, _you_ sound like that,” Lucy said.

“Yeah. Connor was super stoked for the weekend and then you turned him down for some guy you barely know.”

Desmond stared at them feeling shitty all over again. It just felt sort of hopeless. He _was_ the asshole here though. He’d led Connor on, made out with him, did like ‘coupley’ things with him and then… dumped him before they’d even done anything. He looked away from them, at the ground, miserable. He’d had such an _awesome_ weekend and now felt like shit.

“Girls, c’mon, don’t be too hard on him,” Shaun said. “Er… or not,” he said and he could imagine they were glaring at him.

“Hey guys! Woah… okay what happened?” Clay asked.

“Desmond’s an ass,” Lucy said.

“Uh… Des?”

“I kinda am,” Desmond said pathetically.

“Did you tell then I’ve been having to deal with your dumb crush on Altair since _November_?” Clay asked.

“Well I didn’t… really they just kinda dog piled me,” Desmond sat with Clay as a buffer between the girls.

“Don’t even take his side Clay. You saw Connor. He’s heart broken,” Rebecca said.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” Clay said, holding his hands up, “I just wanna eat my damn lunch.” He looked at Desmond, “Speaking of, where’s yours?”

“Uh,” he flushed again, “Altair’s bringing me some.”

“Cool,” Clay said.

“Clay,” Lucy said sternly.

“What?” he asked. “Look I know Connor’s upset and so are you two cause you were super excited to see Connor and Desmond hook up and be happy, but life isn’t a cheesy romcom okay? Desmond and Connor aren’t together and—“ he trailed off and everyone looked at what Clay was now looking at.

“Uh, hi?” Altair said awkwardly, standing kinda in front of them.

Desmond jumped to his feet, “Hey.”

“I brought you lunch,” Altair said holding up a plastic Publix bag.

Desmond smiled, “Thanks.”

Altair pulled out a sub wrapped in a white paper bag, “I didn’t know if you wanted the half or the whole so I just got the bigger one,” he said handing it to Desmond. “Cuban, with vinegar and extra peppers.”

“Thanks,” Desmond said and gave Altair a peck on the lips. Since he was closer now he said, lowly, “Lucy and Rebecca don’t like you so…”

“Right,” Altair said awkwardly, eyeing the girls. “Well, see you at chem,” he said and walked away quickly.

“Gross,” Rebecca said once Altair was out of earshot.

“What?” Desmond asked. “Can’t you guys be happy for me?” He was honestly hurt right now. He knew Connor would have been mad. But Lucy and Rebecca? Lucy and Rebecca looked guilty a moment. “What Clay said was right too. I’ve had a crush on Altair since… well, since September actually,” that was the first time he could pinpoint a ‘I want that particular ass’ and not just a general ‘I want that ass’. Before that he’d sort of been aware of Altair’s extremely attractive existence and now and then went in and out of minor lust over a straight boy that never hung around because he knew when to not bark up that tree. November had changed to ‘I can _get_ that ass’ and now he did. “I am sorry I hurt Connor’s feelings but I have feelings too,” he said once he sat down next to Clay again.

“Just disappointing,” Lucy said. “Connor talked all about on Friday apparently. Aveline told me all about it. And then just,” she made a short fart noise with her tongue.

“Well I’m _so sorry_ I started going out with my crush,” Desmond said sarcastically and opened his sandwich. “Not like I didn’t literally have to shove you and Clay together because you wouldn’t ask each other out. I _did_ and now I’m dating him just like you’re dating yours,” and Lucy flushed a bit in embarrassment. “And so far its fucking awesome.”

Lucy and Rebecca just huffed but at least didn’t bring it up the rest of lunch. Desmond managed to cram half of the sub down his throat and let Clay eat some of the other half before the bell rang. Desmond threw away what had been around his sub and ate the rest on his way up to chemistry. He was surprised when Altair was leaning on the wall just inside the pod.

“Hey,” Altair said.

“Hi,” Desmond smiled.

“Enjoy your lunch?”

“Yeah… sorry about that. They were upset I kinda… stomped all over Connor’s feelings,” he frowned guiltily.

“What about you feelings though?”

“That’s what I said!” He huffed, “They’ll get over it. Apparently _everyone_ but me knew Connor was going to ask me out.”

“Well too bad for him,” Altair said, leaning over to him, “You’re with me,” and Desmond’s stomach did a backflip when Altair kissed him lightly. He heard a camera click.

“Clay!” he yelled, the pod was mostly empty thankfully. Clay just laughed. “I’ll be right in,” Desmond said and stomped over to Clay who darted away. “Damnit Clay!” he yelled and chased the blond across the pod and down the hall. The breezeways were still pretty crowded so there was a lot of dodging around people as Desmond chased Clay down the walkway yelling at him as he did.

He only stopped chasing Clay when he quite literally ran right into a door that was opening. He didn’t fall at least. “You okay?” Clay called from several feet away.

“I’m sorry,” the person opening the door said.

“Its fine,” Desmond said, rubbing his head and then lunged around the door when Clay got close enough to check on him. Clay screamed but Desmond tackled him and shoved him against a set of lockers and yanked his phone from his pocket.

“Is everything all right?” the person asked, confused and a teacher had appeared.

“Miles, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Nothing, Clay’s just dumb,” and he held Clay’s phone out of reach as he unlocked it, his password was literally just four zeros.

“Desmond gimmie my phone,” Clay said as the bell rang, trying to climb Desmond even though he just held it high above his head with both hands, looking at the screen as he did so. “C’mon I’m late for class now.”

Desmond opened the photo app and deleted the picture Clay had taken of him and Altair kissing. “Okay, here you go,” and he tossed Clay back his phone.

Clay looked at what he’d done. “Awwww,” he pouted.

“Get a life,” Desmond told Clay, shoving him a bit. “And don’t take pictures of me, I know you’re mad jelly but its creepy as fuck,” Clay frowned at him.

“Fiiiine,” Clay said like he was doing Desmond a favor.

“Boys, get to class,” the teacher said.

“Yeah _Clay_ ,” Desmond stuck his tongue out at Clay before walking back the way he’d come. He was just in time for roll call and the teacher gave him an unamused look.

“You’re late,” Caterina said softly when he sat.

“Dealing with something.”

“What? You need something?” she hissed and Desmond saw she was hissing at Altair who was turned in his seat to look at him.

“Uh, no,” Altair said.

“Uhg. Weirdo,” Caterina said.

“I dunno,” Desmond said.

“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “What were you dealing with?”

“Clay took a picture of me I didn’t want him to have so I nearly stuffed him in a locker and deleted it,” Caterina giggled softly.

“What photo?”

“Ahh— just something personal,” he said.

“Right,” she shrugged. After the teacher gave them problems to do on their own Desmond wasn’t surprised when Altair came over. “You know one day you’re going to have to learn to do chemistry by yourself,” Caterina said.

“Yeah probably. Today isn’t that day though,” Altair said and grinned at Desmond. His face heated up just a little bit but Caterina didn’t notice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Hey I have a new patreon page](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/tagged/patreon). If you love my work I could really use your support!


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So [I have a twitter now!](https://twitter.com/almualimbeatbox) Its where I'll be posting stuff about my writing and updates for when things have been written. Also maybe a slightly more accessible place to get in touch with me that's not tumblr.
> 
> Speaking of tumblr, this is my tumblr.

The next week passed without any real incident. Lucy and Rebecca got over themselves, but Connor was still mad at him. Desmond’s wasn’t that surprised really. He just let Connor be, he’d come around eventually. He was glad though that after the first day Rebecca and Lucy had a change of heart and yeah it was shitty he’d stepped on Connor’s feelings, but Desmond deserved to be happy too.

And having a boyfriend was  _awesome_. Especially Altair as a boyfriend since Altair was all about buying Desmond lunch every day saying that school lunches were horribly unhealthy for him. Which he wasn’t wrong about honestly. They weren’t really around each other at school otherwise though, just that shared chemistry class honestly. But that was probably a good thing since it meant they weren’t around each other all the time and Desmond was still sort of awkward around Altair when they were alone.

During the weekend Desmond started running again, because he wasn’t joking when he said Altair would make him fat. He did a circuit around the base or ran down to Bocha Chika and back which was about a mile. He ran past the Kenway’s house each time but didn’t stop, even though he wanted to; to apologize again. But probably wasn’t a good idea since he ran without a shirt and that’d be like rubbing salt in the wound.

On Tuesday he found Altair by his motorcycle, which as usual he parked in the back of the parking lot to avoid accidents. “Hey,” he said, in a better mood than he had after a boring, lame, day at school.

“Hey,” Altair said. Like Desmond had thought, literally no one gave a fuck Altair and Desmond were dating. They didn’t put it out there, but it wasn’t a secret either. Clay told him he’d heard a blip about it but it wasn’t ‘news’ like Ezio getting a new girlfriend.

“What’s up?” he hadn’t seen Altair all weekend, he’d gone with his grandpa up to Naples for something or another. He made sure to kiss Altair now, since he hadn’t been able to over the weekend, time to make up for and all that.

“You busy?” Altair asked and while he didn’t smile his eyes brightened after Desmond had kissed him.

“Not really. I have a project I should get started on and the normal amount of homework, but other than that,” he shrugged.

“Wanna come over?” Altair asked.

“Uuh—“

“We can do homework,” Altair said, “and I’ll make you dinner.”

“Uuuhg twist my arm,” Desmond groaned and Altair chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he said grinning.

“Good, cause I also wanted to talk to you about some stuff.”

Desmond made a face. “Stuff? Like… what kind of stuff?” cause ‘I need to talk to you’ was usually international code for bad news.

“Good stuff,” Altair promised. 

“Okay,” Desmond said.

“I can take your bag if you want,” Altair said.

“Okay,” and he handed Altair his back pack. “I’ll see you at your place,” he said. Altair nodded and they separated. Desmond put on his helmet and joined the line of traffic out of the school parking lot.

He got to Altair’s house before Altair got there. When he got off his bike he saw he had a missed call and a text. Both from Altair. The text was ‘key under pot next to the door. Stopping at grocery store, forgot something DX’

Desmond grinned to himself, Altair and his adorable emoticons. The only person he knew who used emoticons was Clay and Rebecca. He thought it was cute that a guy like Altair used emoticons. ‘Its coo!’ Desmond texted back and found the key and let himself in.

Desmond didn’t nearly have the self control to not snoop. Mainly he just wanted to find  _something_  out about Altair that he could relate to that wasn’t ‘we both like dong’. He started with Altair’s room and just started looking through stuff. Altair’s clothes were pretty boring, plain T-shirts, a few button downs, jeans and slacks, like five  _thousand_  hoodies hanging in his closet Desmond only did a courtesy glance of. He didn’t bother with Altair’s laptop; he wasn’t  _that_  nosey. He had a bookshelf with books on it, most of them cultural books and he had an entire shelf dedicated to cooking. Another shelf was war memoirs or stories told from the perspective of soldiers. Altair didn’t have nick nacks or anything and just wall scrolls of plants on his walls. Altair’s room left Desmond wanting.

He checked the media room next and found, to his great surprise, a PS3, a 360, and a Wii, and a video game collection that made Desmond choke. But the cases all had a thin layer of dust on them, showing they hadn’t been used in a while. But the collection was huge. Desmond had a feeling Altair just bought them to have them though didn’t know if he even played them. The DVD and video collection was equally as huge though unlike the games actually looked like Altair watched the damn things.

Altair honestly didn’t strike him as a guy who collected things. He went back to Altair’s room to see what he’d missed. Books were books but unlike the movies and games they were focused in genre or subject meaning they were actual interests and not just ‘I want this for my collection’ sort of thing.

When Desmond opened the big closet again he was greeted by Altair’s… collection of hoodies. He started going through them, just to see if he could find anything interesting. Altair had a hoodie or jacket of every color in both pull over and zip up style. Once he’d waded through those he saw a common theme. A lot of the hoodies seemed to resemble armor. But like… Spartan and N7 armor.

“Oh my god,” Desmond said realizing what was in front of him. “What a fucking nerd,” and he laughed. Then he came to one he remembered he’d wanted  _so_ fucking bad but it had been a limited run of some company not Bioware that looked like Shepard’s armor. He’d seen it but been poor so couldn’t get it and then it’d sold out. And his boyfriend had it!

Well.

His hoodie now.

Desmond pulled the hoodie out of the closet just as he heard the door open. “Desmond,” Altair called from the front of the house.

“Yeah,” Desmond called back and had a fantastic idea. He yanked off his shirt and pulled on the hoodie and zipped it up. Then he walked out of Altair’s room and found Altair in his beautiful, spotless, kitchen, putting stuff into the fridge.

“So I see you found the key,” Altair said, head in the fridge.

“Yeah.”

“Sorry for making you wait I was going to make-“ Altair turned around and saw Desmond standing in his hoodie smugly. “Uh. Hey Shepard,” he said.

“Mine now,” Desmond said and giggled evilly.

Altair chuckled and went over to Desmond and put his arm around Desmond’s waist. “Isn’t it hot in that?” he asked and with his other hand started to pull down the zipper hoodie. Desmond was, of course, not wearing his shirt right now. Altair stopped once he realized Desmond was shirtless under said hoodie.

“It is kinda hot,” Desmond said.

Altair just had a surprised look on his face and then to Desmond’s surprise took his hands off Desmond and raised them. “Not right now,” he said.

“Awww, c’mon,” Desmond whined. “I wanted to fuck.”

“Your bag is still in my car. And I wanted to talk to you first,” Altair said.

Desmond huffed, “You’re the one who said you missed me on your bed,” he said. Altair gave him an unimpressed look. “Fine,” Desmond rolled his eyes and went to get his backpack. Altair had finished putting away the groceries when he came back in. “So what did you wanna talk about?” Desmond asked, though he didn’t know how that could be more important than sex since they hadn’t had any in like three weeks and Desmond had gotten that more when he was just a booty call. Well except for last week when Altair had stayed over but that was more just fooling around sex. Desmond wanted the nitty gritty.

Altair pulled him into the living room, where there was a TV and a big couch and a coffee table and the sound system Desmond had nearly fallen asleep next to at the post finals party. Desmond sat next to Altair, but sat half cross legged on the couch looking at him. “Well, its February,” Altair said.

“Yeah? And?” Desmond didn’t know why this was important.

Altair squinted at Desmond like he thought Desmond was dumb. “What do you want to do for Valentine’s Day?” he asked. Unfortunately all Desmond could think was ‘shit’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I have a patreon page](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/tagged/patreon). If you love my work I could really use your support!


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi, my twitter has changed. I'm now [@xazz_](https://twitter.com/Xazz_)
> 
> I'm also going to try and update B4M once a week, every Wednesday. I might update two or three times a week depending on how excited I am about the current arc. But for now, once a week.

The last time Desmond had thought about Valentine’s Day had been when he’d been going out with Alex. It had been a miserable experience, since Alex was closeted as fuck. They hadn’t done anything special and if anything Alex had just ignored Desmond  _extra_  on V-day which just hit home more and more that their relationship wasn’t anything noteworthy. So he didn’t really have the best memories about V-day, except for Rebecca and Shaun and it was like their free pass to make out in public as often as possible.

“Valentine’s?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah, its coming up this week-

“It  _is_?” Desmond asked.

“Uh… yeah Desmond its the eleventh,” he said and Desmond felt some of the color leave his face. It was in  _three days_.

“Oh,” he said, like he’d just had the wind kicked out of him.

“So what did you want to do?” Altair asked.

“Erm… well, I’ve never really, had a boyfriend during V-day,” Desmond admitted.

“Me neither,” Altair said.

“I’m not really, into Valentine’s Day,” Desmond said, hoping he didn’t sound too weird about it.

“Oh,” and fuck Altair sounded disappointed.

“But if you wanted to do something we totally can,” Desmond was quick to say.

“Well I was thinking maybe we could have like… a date date,” and Desmond nodded to that. He liked the sound of that. “And its on a Friday so you could spend the night?”

“I’d love to,” Desmond said and leaned over to kiss Altair on the mouth. That seemed to reassure him since Altair looked nervous about his suggestions.

“I dunno if this is too touristy, but we could go down to Mallory, watch the sunset.” Fuck that was lame and romantic and Desmond loved it.

“And walk down Duval after,” Desmond put in.

“Yeah,” Altair smiled a bit.

“So that’s what you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah… I just, didn’t know if you wanted to do anything and I didn’t want to make plans without asking you,” he made a bit of a face.

“Where are we going to have dinner?”

“I’ve got an idea. But I want it to be a surprise,” Altair said.

“Okay,” Desmond said, he liked food surprises.

“So you had a project?” and Desmond groaned internally. Looked like he wasn’t getting laid for a while. Though he should have known a guy like Altair would want to do homework first and then fool around after wards. Not that Desmond was complaining really; except that he was.

“Yeah, for math,” Desmond said, “I have to build a bridge.”

“Oh, I have that project too. Do you have a partner yet?” Altair asked.

“No? I figured you’d have one.”

“Malik partnered with Aveline, Ezio with Leo, kinda out of the loop,” Altair winced a little.

“Well I don’t have one,” Desmond said. “And we have chem homework. Do I need to go over that with you?” he teased. Altair did chemistry  _just fine_  on his one.

Altair groaned, “No,” and Desmond snickered.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m never living that down am I?”

“Nope!” Desmond said. “And I thought I was lame,” he poked Altair playfully. “Couldn’t even talk to me. Aren’t you supposed to be the outgoing jock?”

Altair groaned and got up from the couch, “Homework,” he said and Desmond followed, as smug as could be. He grabbed his bag and sat down at the dining room table with Altair and dumped his stuff out. They worked on their homework for about an hour, teasing each other and playing a bit of footsies, when Altair closed his physics book and said, “So I had a question.”

“Yeah?” Desmond asked, working on his chemistry homework.

“What’s club?”

“What?” Desmond asked, looking up, a bit worried.

“Malik’s been bothering me about it since we started dating. Aveline told him she’s busy on Thursdays with club with you and your friends but won’t tell us what the club is. He’s been bugging her but she said you told her not to tell, so now he’s bugging me. What’s club?”

“Uhhhhh….” Desmond said fiddling with his pencil so bad he sent it flying and had to crawl under the table to retrieve it. Fuck what did he say? Well, it probably wouldn’t be too bad. Altair was kinda geeky himself. But D&D was a _whole_  other level of nerdery. He sat back up and Altair was still sitting there waiting for an answer. “Its club,” he said lamely.

“Yeah but  _what_  is club? Like what do you guys do?”

“Ah— just, you know, hang out and play video games.”

Altair narrowed his eyes at Desmond. Shit, he didn’t believe that for a second. “Tell me,” Altair said in a no nonsense tone.

Desmond grimaced. It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t like they played Yu-Gi Oh! that was literally way  _way_  worse than D&D and even Magic. “We play D&D on Thursdays at my house,” he said.

Altair blinked and said nothing for a second. “I don’t know why I thought it’d be anything but something like that,” he sighed.

“What? What did you think club was?”

“I dunno. Something illegal?”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t know!” Altair cried and Desmond snorted. “But seriously? You guys play D&D?”

“Yeah its uh… kinda an exclusive club,” Desmond said awkwardly.

“I see,” Altair said slowly. Then he sat back and picked up his phone and Desmond realized he was telling Malik  _right now_! Oh christ.  _Perfect_. This was why he didn’t tell people what club was. Desmond watched while Altair waited for a reply and Altair grinned when his phone dinged.

“What’d he say?” Desmond asked curiously.

Altair glanced up at him, though Desmond couldn’t tell if Altair was surprised Desmond knew he’d texted Malik. “He says I have weird taste in men; which he already knew,” and Altair shrugged like it didn’t even matter. “At least now he’ll stop bugging me about it,” and he went back to his homework.

For himself Desmond was  _done_  with homework. Well not that he was done but he was  _done_. He got up from the table and Altair looked up when he came around the other side, yanked Altair’s chair out a bit and sat on his lap. “Pay attention to me,” Desmond said rather childishly. But he’d barely  _seen_  Altair all week. He saw Altair at lunch, at chemistry and maybe briefly in the morning. They hadn’t gone on a real date yet even. And Altair had been gone all weekend. Desmond was going to go  _crazy_  if his boyfriend didn’t pay attention to him and kiss him a lot. He got pecks and brief kisses in during the times he saw Altair at school but that  _so_  wasn’t cutting it.

“Ah—“ Altair started but Desmond stopped any stupid response from him by kissing him deeply. When Desmond was done kissing the hell out of Altair they were both short of breath and breathing each other’s air. “What was I saying again?” Altair asked breathlessly.

“That you were going to take this hoodie off me,” Desmond said deviously.

“Ah, right,” Altair said, “though I kinda like you in it,” he said even as he tugged on the zipper and started to pull it down.

“We can play dress up later,” Desmond said, nearly wriggling when Altair ran one hand up his chest. So much better when it wasn’t  _his_  hand. “Unless you wanna play the undressing game,” he said.

“You’re making a pretty compelling argument for it,” Altair said, his words littering little puffs of his breath on Desmond’s lips. Desmond licked his lips and then kissed Altair again and shifted his position so he was straddled one of Altair’s thighs, arms around his neck. They hadn’t made out like this in a while and it was  _awesome!_  “Undressing game?” Altair asked lowly when they parted. Desmond nodded enthusiastically. “Get up so I can stand,” and Desmond jumped right to his feet. When Altair got up Desmond wasn’t a little bit proud Altair had to adjust himself through his pants. It took more self control than Desmond realized to not step over to him and jam his hand down Altair’s pants.

Altair took him by the wrist back to his bedroom and closed the door soundly. Desmond had already removed his shoes when they’d started to play footsies, but now he took off his socks  and started to undo his jeans while sitting on Altair’s bed. He wanted Altair so fucking  _bad_  it was criminal.

“Huh,” Altair said, looking at him.

“What?” Desmond asked as he got his pants undone.

“I was right.”

“What?” Desmond asked again, cocking his head at him.

Altair came over to him and pushed him back onto the neatly made bed and took a knee on the bed, leaning over and kissing Desmond. “My bed looks much better with you laid out on it,” Altair smirked.

“If I didn’t want you so badly right now I’d complain about your shitty jokes,” Desmond said which made Altair chuckle. Desmond sucked Altair’s bottom lip, making him kiss Desmond again. He still wasn’t over how nice it was to kiss Altair. He didn’t know if he ever would be. “Also,” he gasped as Altair started to kiss his neck.

“Mmm?” Altair asked.

“Well, two things. No big ass hickeys. I was grounded for like a month cause of the last one you gave me. And two, I  _really_  want you,” Desmond said.

“Is that limited to neck hickeys?” Altair asked, nuzzling along his neck.

“Uh—

“Can I put them elsewhere instead?” Altair asked in his ear.

“Yes,” he practically yelped when Altair sucked on his ear lobe.

“And you don’t want the romance tonight, you just want the business,” he could hear Altair’s smirk.

“S-something like that,” Desmond said and he was hard now. Fuck Altair hadn’t even  _touched_  his dick and he was hard. He needed to get laid  _so_  badly.

“Okay,” Altair said and stood up, trailing kisses along Desmond’s neck and chest as he did. He went and got the lube and condoms and tossed them next to Desmond on the bed. Then he kneeled on the bed and kissed Desmond nice and long, tugging off Desmond’s jeans. Desmond undid Altair’s belt with some difficulty but he did get the damn thing off and Altair’s jeans slid right off without any problem or prompting. Altair was kissing his neck and throat when he tugged his shirt off. In the end the only bit of clothing left on was Desmond’s hoodie, though it was unzipped.

They ended up making out for a while, touching and kissing every part they could reach. It was wonderful and Desmond loved the feeling of Altair kissing him on the mouth and on his neck and down his chest. He didn’t mind in the slightest they were taking their time to get to the business. And when they did it was awesome. Altair took his sweet ass time making sure Desmond was ready, which he appreciated but quickly got frustrated with him about.

“C’mon,” he whined at one point. He was about to explode with want.

“All right, all right, relax,” Altair said and stood back up, they hadn’t made it much past the edge of the bed honestly, and grabbed the condom. Desmond sat up and snatched it out of his hand. “Des-

“I wanna do it,” Desmond said, looking up at him. Altair’s already flushed face brightened.

“Okay,” Altair said.

Desmond kissed Altair’s stomach and took Altair’s cock in one hand. He was kinda hard already from their fooling around but he could tell Altair needed some more attention. Altair groaned a little when Desmond kissed the head of his cock and then put it into his mouth and sucked on it. He might not be able to give head like Altair but he still knew how to make a dude cum with his mouth. He had Altair pulling his hair and panting in less than two minutes.

“Holy crap,” Altair breathed when Desmond let him go. He nuzzled into Altair’s groin before ripping open the condom wrapper. “I forgot you could do that,” and Desmond snickered.

“I’m unassuming aren’t I?” Desmond asked. Altair just made a noise in his throat as Desmond unrolled the condom down Altair’s dick. He kissed the head of Altair’s cock and lubed it up before laying back down.

“You’re awesome is what,” Altair said and dragged Desmond’s legs around his waist. Desmond smiled at him. He also moaned when Altair pushed into him.

“Finally!” he cried.

“Hey! I didn’t hear you complaining earlier,” Altair said and that kinda made Desmond laugh.

“I can complain some more if you want,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“No,” Altair said, giving him a look. Desmond just grinned cheesily at him. “Just… be quiet for once,” and that made Desmond laugh again. “Or that, that’s good too,” Altair said leaning over him and kissing him a few times. 

“Too bad you’re not funny at all,” Desmond said.

“I don’t have to be funny for you to like me,” Altair said moving his hips.

“Nope,” Desmond agreed and came out as a half moan. “I’ll be funny instead.”

“Save the funny for after hmm?” Altair asked and Desmond would have replied but he was too busy feeling good. He tightened his legs around Altair’s waist, pulled him against him. 

Altair started slow, to make sure everything was all right down there. “I did tell you to give me the business,” he said, trying to sound unimpressed but there was something really great about Altair moving in and out of him.

“If you’re so unhappy  _you_  can do it,” Altair told him smartly. Desmond made a face at him and said nothing but Altair  _did_  start to go faster, and harder. And Desmond was  _all_  about that. He held onto the side of the bed as Altair gave him what he wanted and he ended up swearing a whole lot because of it. He dragged Altair down, making him nearly face plant in Desmond’s chest. He grinned at him, Altair just huffed and found his pace again, this time leaning over Desmond, his heavy breathing mixing with Desmond’s. 

At one point Altair just got onto the bed with Desmond, pulling Desmond into his lap as he kneeled on the bed. It was an awesome position and the way Altair’s hips snapped upwards hit Desmond’s prostate at least once every three or four thrusts. Which was pretty good for someone not looking for it. It made Desmond arch off the bed, pressing himself up against Altair who put his hand up under his back.

Altair slowed down enough to press sloppy, open mouthed, kisses across Desmond’s upper chest and throat and Desmond pulled him up to kiss him correctly. He held the back of Altair’s neck and when they started to go faster again Desmond just hung onto his hair instead of the sheets.

He gasped and groaned when Altair pushed into him roughly as he moaned loudly. He sounded kinda broken and it was one of the hottest things Desmond had ever heard because it was sort of pathetic. That Desmond could make a guy like Altair sound like that was seriously hot. “Oh fuck,” Altair said softly, all the wind rushing out of him. “Fucking fuck,” he said looking right at Desmond with a blank sort of stare.

“You sure?” Desmond teased him.

“Uuuhg, not now,” and Desmond snickered. “Don’t ruin the moment, Miles.” And as if to make sure Desmond  _didn’t_  ruin the moment Altair kissed him. That was cool in Desmond’s book, especially when Altair gave a few more, weaker, thrusts into him, making him moan into Altair’s mouth before he finally pulled out. Fuck that had felt so  _fucking_  good. 

Desmond nuzzled against Altair’s jaw and neck. “Can we do that again?” he asked against Altair’s ear.

“But we just finished!” Altair said, looking at him.

“I know,” Desmond said, “but can we do it again?” he asked innocently, giving Altair his best smile.

Altair eyed him. “I guess,” he said.

“Yes!” Desmond said and threw his arms up.

Altair sighed, “Way to ruin the mood, Miles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I have a patreon page](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/tagged/patreon). If you love my work I could really use your support!


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guesssss who had food poisoning yesterday?  
> Meeeee!!!
> 
> That's why chapter comes today
> 
> and just decided 'fuck it' and getting right to the bits I wanna write now

Desmond felt a bit nervous when Valentine’s Day finally rolled around. He knew it’d be fine. But he didn’t really know what to expect. Also he felt kinda silly having a heart shaped box of chocolates in his backpack as he walked from the parking lot to the school. He scanned the big parking lot as he did trying to find Altair’s red Mercedes but didn’t see it. He didn’t let himself get discouraged though, the parking lot was pretty big after all. He could still be here already.

Once he got into the courtyard he started scanning around for Altair’s group of friends. Unlike his own they tended to drift each morning. He ended up with his friends under the pavilion as he found the back of Malik’s head and started looking for Altair.

“Hey, Des, Earth to Des,” Clay said, yanking his attention away from his search.

“Huh? Yeah?” he asked turning around right.

“You okay?”

“What? Yeah, totally, I was just looking for Altair,” he said and sat next to Clay, his leg started to jiggle basically  _immediately_.

“Wow. Dude, calm down what is your deal?” Clay asked.

“Well its my first V-day I’m with someone. Except you know who,” even after all this time Desmond still couldn’t say it in public. Only his friends knew he’d dated Alex, but other than Clay only after they’d broken up. It was too well beaten into his skull, don’t out your boyfriend even though he shouldn’t have to be closeted anyway.

“Oh,” Clay said.

“You get Lucy anything?” Desmond asked, since she wasn’t around, Shaun was also absent and Rebecca was listening to music literally loud enough to blow out her eardrums.

“Yeah, check it,” and Clay pulled out a box of candy and a little stuffed rabbit with a big ass lollipop stuck to its front paw. “Lucy isn’t a big fan of chocolates. So, candy,” Clay said, grinning. “Also they won’t melt in the heat,” and Desmond nodded, there was wisdom there. “Think she’ll like it?”

“I’m sure,” Desmond said. “What’s not to like about your boyfriend buying you presents— oh there he is!” he sat up a bit straighter, staring as Altair walked over to his friends. He didn’t get up right away. He didn’t want to be weird.

“Dude, chill,” Clay said.

“Right, sorry, just kinda anxious,” Desmond said, his leg still jiggling.

“You get him something?”

“Yeah, chocolates,” he said.

“Man you’re gross,” Clay said. “Fuck  _speaking_  of gross,” he added when Shaun showed up, his bus finally arriving. He didn’t seem to hear Clay though and both Desmond and Clay leaned back and away from Rebecca and Shaun since Valentine’s was literally the worst holiday involving those two. They were usually pretty tame when it came to PDA. But on Valentine’s they just used it as an excuse to make out in public. Shaun also had a  _huge_  box of chocolates he was very badly hiding behind his back.

Shaun tapped Rebecca on the shoulder as she was playing with her phone and she looked up, pulling her headphone down. “Shaun!” she cried, jumping to her feet.

“You’d think we’d be used to it by now,” Clay said, making a bit of a gagging noise as Rebecca wrapped her arms around Shaun’s neck and kissed the heck out of him. Shaun and Rebecca had apparently been dating since the summer of freshman year, before Desmond had moved from Texas and they’d just gotten more and more touchy feely and open about the fact that they sucked each other’s faces. Desmond had no issues with PDA in the slightest but Shaun and Rebecca knew how to take it to a new level of ‘can you not?’

“I’m gonna go see Altair, sooo,” and Desmond got to his feet.

“You’re going to leave me here with them?” Clay demanded, scandalized.

“Uh… yeah, I got a boyfriend to see and Lucy will be here soon sooo,” and he grabbed his bag. He heard Clay whine his name after him but he didn’t stop. His friend could be like a small, easily excitable dog sometimes and if you gave into his demands he never stopped.

Walking over to Altair and his friends was surprisingly difficult. Mainly because it was a bunch of jocks and as a general rule of being a nerd Desmond was wary of them. Not that he’d been bullied that much, but high school movie cliches ran deep. Really though high school movies were a huge lie about how high school really was and yeah there were  _some_  clicks. But there were no Plastics like in Mean Girls and most groups were weird and had loose connective ties anyway.

Much like Shaun and Rebecca Altair had his friends who seemed way too caught up in V-day and took it as their go ahead to make out first thing in the morning. Aveline and Malik weren’t  _quite_  doing that, but he was sure that the bag of Starbursts they were sharing was just an excuse to show off the fact that they could undo the wrapper with just their tongues. Ezio had his latest girlfriend on his lap while he talked to Altair and Yusuf, both of which were facing away from him, so it was no surprise Ezio noticed him first. He got the impression… Ezio didn’t like him that much. He didn’t know  _why_  but any time he found Altair and he was with the guy Ezio just was kinda bristly. He was too chicken shit to ask why Ezio didn’t seem to like him though so he just kept his head down and tried to ignore it.

Altair looked over his shoulder when Ezio’s face soured and Altair had literally the exact opposite reaction to seeing him. Altair brightened and while he didn’t smile Desmond could see he was happy to see him.

Desmond didn’t think about the fact that Altair’s friends were still around, at the very least  _aware_  of what was going on. He just went right up to Altair who pushed himself to his feet. “Hey,” Altair said, grabbing Desmond’s arm lightly and now he did smile. Desmond and his stomach  _needed_  to have a long discussion about this whole summersaulting shit. Altair was touching his  _arm_. This had to stop happening. But it didn’t stop his stomach  _from_  doing that summersault in delight to Altair’s proximity. He’d get used to it eventually. Right? Part of him hoped he didn’t.

“Hey,” Desmond said, “Happy Valentine’s Day,” and he leaned over and kissed Altair and didn’t give a fuck about it. Altair’s hand tightened on his arm in a good way.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Altair said and if Desmond didn’t know any better he’d almost call Altair  _giddy_. And that was when the bell decided to ring. Fucking bell. “We still on for tonight?” Altair asked him.

“Well duh. My parents think I’m staying over at Clay’s,” it was sort of a complicated lie since his parents knew Lucy and Clay were dating so why wouldn’t they go out for Valentine’s too? Lie was Lucy was grounded (as absurd as that sentence was) so Clay and Desmond were going to be alone together on Valentine’s. Kinda extravagant for a lie but his parents had bought it.

“So no interrupting phone calls?” Altair asked as he picked his backpack up from the ground.

“Nope,” Desmond said.

“Good,” Altair said and kissed him again. Fucking stomach backflip again. That shit was getting old. Only no it wasn’t. It was fucking  _awesome_. It was him just nitpicking the one thing about having a boyfriend that was slightly inconvenient. “I need to get to class,” he said.

“Wait wait,” Desmond said before Altair could follow Malik who was motioning for Altair to come on or they were going to be late. Desmond took off his backpack and opened the big pocket. “I uh, got you something,” and he flushed when he pulled out the red heart shaped box of chocolates.

“Oh,” Altair said as he took the box, clearly he hadn’t been expecting the gift. “Uh, I thought we were gonna wait till dinner?”

“We were?” Desmond said, giving a worried look that made his neck tight. He hoped he hadn’t just done something weird.

“Its cool,” Altair said quickly.

“Altair, if you don’t hurry up I’m leaving your ass to be late,” Malik called from the stairwell where he was waiting.

“Thanks,” Altair said and put the box in his backpack.

“So I take it I get mine later?” Desmond asked.

“Well-“ Altair started then seemed to remember they were in public. “Something like that,” Desmond grinned. “But really, class. I’ll see you at lunch,” and he gave Desmond one last, brief, kiss before darting off and heading for Malik who looked his usual grumpy self. He couldn’t hear what they were saying from this far away, but Malik  _looked_  like he was calling Altair an idiot.

Desmond watched them go before realizing  _he_  would be late to class too if he didn’t leave, and he had to stop at his locker  _and_  go back across campus. Good job Desmond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I have a patreon page](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/tagged/patreon). If you love my work I could really use your support!


	61. Chapter 61

Honestly Desmond had expected Altair to text him sometime in the day about going out to lunch. But the bell rang and he still hadn’t gotten a text. So he went to the cafeteria instead to wait in the boring line. As he waited he texted Altair, ‘no lunch?’ since Altair bought him lunch like every other day it seemed like. He wasn’t going to complain in the slightest. It was awesome having a rich boyfriend who would pay for anything.

He didn’t get a reply, which annoyed him. He was nearly about to be able to grab his tray when someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Eh?” he asked and came face to face with Altair, he smiled. “Hey,” he said.

“C’mon, that shit’s gross,” and Altair dragged Desmond out of the line and out of the loud cafeteria.

“We going out to lunch?” Desmond asked hopefully.

“No,” Altair said. “I have a bullshit forth period, so I skipped out early and got something.”

“Mmmm, what is it?”

Altair gave him a look, “I don’t know if you even like me, or the fact that I feed you,” he said.

“Safe thing,” Desmond said and wrapped an arm around Altair’s waist. Altair stiffened a little before relaxing. He was still getting used to the whole, ‘being out in public’ thing. “I like you, I like food, what’s not to like?” he grinned at him. Altair just rolled his eyes a little and Desmond’s grin grew wider.

Lunch was at the other concrete planter in the courtyard, opposite where Desmond and his friends usually hung out. It was out of the way even more so though as it was next to the library building and no one liked going in there. The librarian was too scary. It was some styrofoam boxes in plastic bags and something wrapped in some foil. Pretty standard affair and not fast food.

Desmond put his bag down as they sat, “So I just sort of guessed what you’d like-

“I like anything,” Desmond was quick to say.

Altair gave him an almost annoyed look, “You can’t like  _everything_ ,” he said.

“No, I can,” Desmond grinned.

“You’re impossible,” Altair huffed.

“Sure am!”

“God its like dating a dog-

“And you’re like dating a cat soooo.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Altair said, “I got Cuban food for lunch, from one of my favorite places,” and he handed Desmond his styrofoam box.

“Yeah? What place?” Desmond asked, opening it. He hummed as he inhaled, cuban cooked chicken with rice and onions and smelled totally amazing.

“This little place on Catherine-

“No way,” Desmond said.

“Desmond-

“No no,” Desmond cut in since Altair seemed annoyed with him, “This is El Sib? I fucking love that place!”

“You do?” Altair said, sounding genuinely surprised.

“Yeah,” Desmond leaned over and kissed him briefly. “And to think I got you chocolates. Lame,” he huffed at himself.

“Well I enjoyed them,” Altair said.

“Good,” Desmond said. “And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this,” he said, pointing at his lunch. Altair had got himself steak.

“So are you going to come over after school?” Altair said after they’d eaten a little. “I know you said you haven’t told your parents about me…”

“Yeah I told them I’m staying with Clay and we get to be alone on V-day _together_. Just like the last three years,” Desmond sighed. “So I’ll just come over to your house.”

“Okay,” and Altair said nothing more. While they hadn’t spent a  _ton_  of time together yet Desmond had already learned when Altair got all quiet though he had a burning question but was too awkward to ask.

“Yeah?” Desmond asked once he’d eaten a bit more.

“What?”

“What do you wanna ask me?”

“What makes you think I want to ask you something?” Altair asked defensively.

“Because you do,” Desmond said simply.

Altair sulked for another minute, stuffing his face, before he said. “So we both know why I don’t want my gramps to find out I’m gay but… what about your parents?”

“My parents know I’m gay,” Desmond said and stuck some rice and onions into his mouth.

“Yeah but… I’m a secret?”

“Well more like, if they knew I had a boyfriend, I’d never be able to sleep over anyone’s house ever again; ever,” Desmond said. “Not even Clay’s. Sure as shit wouldn’t be able to stay out past curfew on Valentine’s Day. I have two older brothers, and my parents have dealt with  _all_  of the horse shit. Especially my brother Duncan who has dated girls, boys, and everything in between. Since Dylan, he’s my oldest brother, started dating our folks have a very ‘no sleepovers if you’re dating’ policy unless its our friends, and our friends are the ones sleeping over. And good luck getting your partner to spend the night if you’re dating. My dad would glare you into non existence,” he said all this between bites. “Soooo, I’ll tell them about you eventually. But not till I’m done with you,” he smirked.

“I’ve never felt so used in my life,” Altair said.

“I’m sure I’ll make it up to you  _somehow_ ,” Desmond said and that made Altair chuckle.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Altair said.

“I’m sure you will,” Desmond grinned.

“Your parents won’t be weird that I’m, uh… not white, will they?” Altair asked awkwardly.

“My sister-in-law is black,” Desmond said, “And Duncan dated every color. Honestly you’re like… the most normal boyfriend any of us has ever had.”

Altair ate a few more bites before, “Was that a compliment?”

“Maybe,” Desmond shrugged. Then he put down his box, “that was awesome, and delicious,” he said and wiped his mouth. As he did he ended up looking towards his friends. Clay was unapologetically staring at them. Desmond groaned and Altair made to turn as well, “No, don’t look,” Desmond said putting his hand up to block Altair’s vision.

“Is he always this weird?”

“Yes.”

“So I should just get used to it?”

“Yeah basically.”

“He’s obsessed with you?”

“Clay has no life and finds mine fascinating. So yeah, kinda,” Desmond shrugged.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Altair said, finishing up his steak. “Doesn’t he have a girlfriend or something to occupy him?”

“Yeah, he does. But he’s been dealing with my bullshit about you for a few months sooo, he’s invested.”

Altair glanced at Clay, “Weird,” he said.

“I tell him that on a regular basis, he’s well aware.”

“He isn’t like… going to stalk us on our dates is he?”

“What? No, of course not. He’s weird but knows boundaries.”

“Oh good. Cause Ezio had an ex like that. It was really  _really_  fucking creepy.”

“Yeah, nothing like that,” Desmond promised him.

“Good.”

“So do I get any clues to where we’re going to dinner?” Desmond asked.

“Just bring a collared shirt,” Altair said, “Its a nice place.”

“Oh dear,” Desmond said.

“You have collar shirts right?”

“Well like polos-

Altair groaned, “I have one you can borrow,” he said. “Cause this isn’t a polos kind of place.”

“Okay,” Desmond said sheepishly.

“What was that I said earlier about its like dating a dog?”

“You know just how to make me feel special huh?” Desmond grumbled as the bell rang. Altair threw all their garbage into the plastic bag. Desmond got his backpack and looked over at Clay again. He was getting his stuff and getting gone. Good at least he wasn’t watching them like a creeper.

“Don’t be mad,” Altair said and before Desmond could reply Altair kissed him. He tasted like awesome Cuban food so he was into it. “I like dogs,” he grinned.

“You’re such a piece of shit,” Desmond said.

“Yeah, but I’m  _your_  piece of shit,” Altair smirked at him. “Now lets get to class,” and he pulled his backpack on and grabbed Desmond’s hand. They stopped at Desmond’s locker before going to class together.


	62. Chapter 62

When Desmond knocked on Altair’s front door he felt weird about it. It still felt weird coming over to Altair’s house since up till recently it had only been for booty calls. Now though it wasn’t and Desmond felt awkward. Somehow going over to your boyfriend’s house was _more_ awkward than going over to your fuck buddy’s house. Maybe because he knew what to expect from Altair back then. Now he didn’t and it made him nervous and awkward because he didn’t want to ruin this chance he had.

Altair answered the door with his shirt only half buttoned, and buttoned crooked on top of that. “Uh, I interrupt something?” Desmond asked.

Altair looked down at his slightly rumpled shirt, “I was getting dressed,” he said and let Desmond in. “And you need to get dressed, what are you even wearing?” Altair looked him up and down with some disdain.

“What?” Desmond asked, he was wearing jeans and t-shirt. Though they were black jeans, and really nice, no stains or artificial staining.

“Do you own any nice pants?”

“These are my nice pants,” Desmond said.

“Uuuuhg,” Altair groaned and shoved him down the hall and into his room. “Undress, you can’t go to the place we’re going dressed like that,” he said.

“Fiiine,” Desmond grumbled.

“I made a reservation for later tonight, so we can watch the sunset first.”

“Sounds okay to me,” Desmond dropped his backpack off on the end of Altair’s bed and tugged his shirt off. Altair rebuttoned his own shirt before looking in his wardrobe.

“What’s your waist size?” Altair asked.

“Medium,” Desmond said. Altair’s head did nearly a hundred and eighty degree spin to give Desmond a look. “What?” he asked, sort of scared.

Altair just sighed and looked away and muttered something to himself, though what that was Desmond didn’t catch. Desmond took off his shoes and his pants and sat on Altair’s bed in his underwear. Lucky underwear cause yeah he was a guy who had lucky underwear. They were red and made his ass look _great_. Altair grabbed a pair of pants from where he had a bunch all nice and folded up and had Desmond try them on.

“How do they feel?”

“Kinda snug,” Desmond said sheepishly, they felt nice though, if a bit tight around the ass.

Altair’s reply was to shove his hand down to the front of his pants, making him give a little yelp as he started. “I think they’re fine,” Altair said with an amused smirk and gave Desmond a little squeeze.

“O-okay,” Desmond stammered even as Altair took his hand out of Desmond’s pants and out of groping range. Desmond had to reach down and adjust himself a bit because he’d been… kinda into it? Any time Altair was down his pants he was into it though so not a surprise. Altair gave him a shirt to wear too, it was a super soft button up and a light blue color. Altair was wearing a red shirt. “Do I have to wear different shoes?”

“No, you’re fine,” Altair said.

“Happy now?” Desmond asked, meaning his outfit.

“Yes,” Altair said and leaned over, kissing him. “You look very nice.”

“So uh, Mallory Square and then are we walking to the place or taking your car?”

“Its on the other side of the island, too far to walk,” Altair said.

“Ah, okay,” but Desmond was distracted by Altair’s arms around his waist.

“We could walk down Duval if you wanted,” Altair said, “before it gets too dark.”

Desmond nodded, “Anything’s fine really,” but he didn’t want to add on that he’d do anything if Altair was involved, he just wanted to spend time with his boyfriend. He knew that once the initial ‘oh my god I have a boyfriend this is awesome!’ clingy phase was over he wouldn’t feel like he needed to spend every day with Altair. It had happened with Alex so he knew he’d get over it eventually. But right now just _damn_ he wanted to hang out with Altair all the time, both dressed and not dressed.

“All right,” Altair said, mouth close to his and thank god Altair kissed him again. “Though we’re never going to get out of the house at this rate.”

“You say it like its a bad thing,” Desmond grinned.

“C’mon, lets go. The walk’ll build up our appetites.”

“Okay,” and Desmond _did_ let go of Altair.

“And uh,” Altair grimaced.

“What?” Desmond asked.

“I got you something. But-

“But?”

Altair just sighed and left the room, motioning for Desmond to follow. “Remember I said I’ve never dated anyone before?” Desmond nodded. “Never done Valentine’s Day with someone either.”

“Okay,” Desmond said slowly.

“So I didn’t know what to do, okay?”

“Altair what are you talking about?” Desmond said, they’d arrived in the living room.

“I went to the store to get you something and when someone asked if I needed help I panicked.”

“Okay?” Desmond was still waiting for what Altair was clearly stressing out about.

“I said I didn’t know what to get my girlfriend for Valentine’s.”

“Wow, you really did panic,” Desmond said since he was pretty sure Altair couldn’t forget he was gay as fuck unless he was.

“And the help kinda… convinced me to get you this,” Altair said like it pained him and then grabbed something on the couch. Desmond’s eyes widened. He’d been expecting something else. He _certainly_ hadn’t been expecting a good sized white teddy bear with a bright red ribbon around its neck and holding a large heart shaped box of chocolate. Desmond didn’t move or say anything. He just _stared_ at it. “Ah fuck,” Altair muttered.

“You got me a stuffed animal,” Desmond finally said. Altair looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him.

“Yeah— I can take it back if you don’t like it-

“What?” Desmond said, “No, its mine,” and he snatched the bear right out of Altair’s hands. 

Now Altair got to look surprised. “You like it?” he asked cautiously.

“It surprised me,” Desmond admitted, “but I’m man enough to admit I like cute and romantic stuff. And this is both,” and Altair looked so relieved, like he about to melt. Desmond leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Go get some scissors so I can cut the box and tags off,” Desmond said. Altair left and Desmond went and sat on the couch looking at his new bear. He’d seen a couple of girls around at school with stuffed animals or balloons or even flowers. He was _kinda_ glad Altair had been too embarrassed to bring it to school. Not that he didn’t like but he didn’t want to take it to his classes. He would have felt weird and he knew he would have gotten some name calling because people were assholes.

Altair came back and sat next to him, handing him a pair of scissors. Desmond cut off the tag on the bear’s ear, then the ties holding the box to the hands. He put the box of chocolates on the table and looked at his bear very seriously. “So?” Altair asked after a second.

“Snow,” Desmond said.

“What?” Altair asked.

Desmond turned to Altair and faced the bear partially towards Altair as well. “That’s his name. Snow. And he knows nothing.”

Altair blinked, “So then is his full name Jon Snow?”

“No. What are you stupid? His full name is Snow Miles,” Desmond said matter of factly. Altair laughed.

“Of course, why didn’t I think of that?” Altair said grinning.

“And I think I’ll leave the chocolates till after we get back,” Desmond said.

“Or tomorrow,” Altair said, Desmond nodded. “So you don’t think its weird?” Altair asked.

“Its weird, but I like it anyway,” Desmond said and leaned over kissing Altair on the lips. They got distracted by kissing and Altair ended up straddling one of Desmond’s thighs and Snow was put to his side out of the way.

“We should probably get going,” Altair was short of breath when they broke apart, still really close.

“Do we have to?” Desmond asked.

“If you wanna see the sunset yeah,” Altair said even as he trailed his hand down Desmond’s chest.

“All right,” Desmond sighed. “Though its only four.”

“We’re going to walk Duval, remember?”

“Right,” Desmond said. ”One more kiss?” he asked hopefully.

Altair grinned and kissed him briefly, but fully and that was so awesome. Then Altair got off him. “C’mon,” and he held his hand out for Desmond and helped him up. “Dinner will be a much nicer surprise,” Altair promised.

“I liked Snow,” Desmond insisted as he followed Altair out of the house. “You going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope,” Altair said as he put on his seat belt. “Surprise,” he said firmly.

“Of _course_ , dear,” Desmond teased him, leaning over the center counsel and kissing his cheek. Altair just grinned and put the car into reverse.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I have a patreon page](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/tagged/patreon). If you love my work I could really use your support!


	63. Chapter 63

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!!!

If Key West was good at one thing it was celebrating. It was a city that revolved around holidays and celebration. Valentine’s was no different. Many of the bars had specials for couples, others had decorations.

Duval was _filled_ with people. Not unusual of course. It was still cold up north. But it was date night for everyone in the city and lower Keys. They’d come out to eat, drink, have a good time and probably go home and bang. Desmond knew that was what _he_ wanted to do.

Desmond held Altair’s hand as they walked on the sidewalk, just looking at stuff. There were a ton of t-shirt stores full of shirts with dumb slogans and imagery and little stores that sold expensive nick knacks and art galleries filled with commercial art and actual local artists. Most of the bars and restaurants on Duval also had some sort of Valentine’s Day decorations. Heart lights or hearts on their host podiums or special drinks written on chalk boards propped up on fences or as pop up boards.

Along the way to Mallory they stopped in some stores, looked at what was inside. They didn’t buy anything of course. Everything on Duval was overpriced and way too over the top for them. It was all touristy shit too. There wasn’t a lot on Duval locals actually went out and bought unless they were looking for cheap t-shirts or local art.

By the time they got to Mallory Square it still wasn’t close to sunset. “Well, now what?” Desmond asked.

“Mmm,” Altair looked around. “Well we could go see all the performers, then find a good location to watch the sunset. You know it gets so crowded during the sunset.”

“I… have actually never been here,” Desmond admitted.

“ _What_? What have you even done here and you _live here_?”

“I’ve been here three years, cut me some slack- what is that look on your face now.”

Altair took his hand out of Desmond’s very pointedly. “You’re weird.”

“Oh come the fuck on,” Desmond groaned.

“I’m making your do touristy crap for our dates now.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Super serious.”

“But that’s so… lame!”

“Some of its actually kind cool. Now c’mon we’re _definitely_ going and looking at all the street performers now.” Altair took Desmond’s hand again and dragged him out to the big plaza. They looked at all the little booths selling jewelry and hot dogs and painted coconuts and other shit tourists loved. Then they watched each of the street performer shows. Desmond liked the magician/acrobat that was there who got himself out of the straight jacket.

By the time Altair had thoroughly dragged Desmond through all of the Mallory Square attractions it was closer to sunset and people were starting to show up in greater numbers. Desmond also saw locals showing up now, coming out of their homes to watch the sunset at Mallory.

Altair dragged Desmond to the edge of the Square and to the sea wall. There were no cruise ships in so they had an uninterrupted view of the sky that stretched across the horizon. It was still like twenty minutes before the sun would set and most people were ignoring the sun. Altair sat on the sea wall and Desmond sat next to him.

“See, not so lame huh?”

“Cheesy stuff,” Desmond scoffed.

“Literally says the absolute biggest nerd I know,” Altair said.

“You’re the one who owns like a thousand video games he’s never played.”

“I have,” Altair said defensively. “I’ve played all of them.”

“You beat any of them?”

“I get bored easy,” Altair shrugged. “Tourist stuff can be fun though. The rest of Mallory is actually kinda cool. You ever even been in the Mel Fischer museum?”

“What’s the Mel Fischer museum?” Desmond asked. “What? Was I supposed to know this?”

“You don’t- god you’re so fucking dumb.”

“Been here _three years_ ,” Desmond stressed again.

“He’s a really famous ship wreck diver. Found a sunken Spanish galleon full of gold and made of fortune. How the hell have you never even _heard_ of Mel Fischer?”

“Because I’m blissfully oblivious to lame shit,” Desmond said, making a raspberry with his lips.

“You know Key West has an aquarium?”

“What? Seriously?” That was actually a surprise. The city was so small and aquariums were so big. How had he _not_ heard of this?

“Yeah. Right around here,” Altair pointed behind them. “We’ll go some time. They have alligators. And sharks. And the ‘mall’.”

“I doubt its a mall.”

“Closest thing we got that isn’t a shopping plaza,” Altair shrugged. “Don’t be so judgmental. Key West is small,” he protested.

“I’m well aware its small,” Desmond said. “Oh, look,” he nodded ahead and Altair turned away. The sun was low in the sky and sinking fast. It turned the sky a riot of color. There were a fair amount of clouds in the sky, which did nothing but add to the drama of the setting sun. The clouds turned purple and indigo, the sky orange and red the sun a perfect blood orange hovering a few centimeters from the horizon. People were looking now, ignoring the street performers and crowded around the edge of the sea wall. More people joined Desmond and Altair on the sea wall but didn’t push which was good.

The sun kissed the horizon, shimmering as it sunk further and further down. Desmond reached down and put his hand over Altair’s. The sun burned his eyes but he didn’t look away either. There was something amazing about watching the sunset over the water. Something terribly romantic too that gave Desmond weird butterflies.

The last display of the sun was a searing hot eye slowly closing on the horizon. The afterglow would stick around for a while though. Desmond started when people started clapping and cheering. Had he just missed something? He rubbernecked around but all he saw was people’s legs.

Next to him Altair laughed. “They’re clapping for the sun,” he said.

“The sun? Its the sun.”

“They’re Floridians, they’re weird, leave ‘em alone,” Altair said, amused. “Now we should head back to my car. Our reservation is soon.”

“Okay,” Desmond said and they got off the sea wall. Altair seemed to hesitate before he took Desmond’s hand and that made him grin. Altair led him off the waterside and back towards Duval street. They walked back along the strip to the side street Altair had parked on and had to walk two blocks to get to his car. “Well that wasn’t as lame as I thought it was gonna be,” Desmond said truthfully.

“There’s literally nothing lame about a killer sunset,” Altair said. “That was a pretty nice one too.”

“Do you go down there often?”

Altair shrugged as he pulled on his safety belt, “Sometimes. Not _too_ often. It is really touristy,” he agreed. “And I have as good a view from my dock-

“Oh fuck off,” Desmond growled. Altair snickered and turned the car on. “Rub it in rich boy.”

“Can’t help it,” Altair said. “‘Sides, this rich boy is buying dinner tonight. So I don’t wanna hear it.”

“Yeah yeah,” Desmond said and used his hand to mimic a mouth opening and closing while he rolled his eyes. “Where are we going?”

“Told you, surprise,” Altair said.

“I hate surprises,” Desmond said.

“That isn’t going to make me tell you,” Altair said. They were driving down Simonton Street now, headed south.

“Uhg!”

“You’re such a drama queen!” Altair cried, amused.

“I like knowing stuff,” Desmond said. “Clay rubs off on me sometimes.”

“We’ll be there in like five minutes. You won’t explode.”

“Well, not yet,” Desmond said dramatically. Altair just rolled his eyes. “So, regret that crush yet?”

“Every day,” Altair said blandly.

“Me too,” Desmond said and they both laughed.

They’d stopped at a light where Simonton met Truman. “Though really, I don’t,” Altair said and Desmond perked up when Altair leaned over to his side of the car to kiss him. “Not when you get that look on your face every time I do that.”

“Look? What look?” Desmond asked worriedly.

“That its the best thing you’ve done all day,” Altair said, smug as a motherfucker.

“Fuck you.”

“That is entirely the plan,” Altair said as the light turned green.

Desmond pursed his lips a bit, thinking to himself. They drove in silence for a few moments before he asked, “Seriously?”

“Seriously what?”

Desmond felt awkward asking when it wasn’t in the moment. He shouldn’t of course, but he did. “Do you bottom?”

Altair shrugged, “Once or twice.”

“That’s it?”

“What?” Altair sent him a quick look but kept his eyes mostly on the road. Desmond slouched in the seat, arms across his chest. “Whaaat? Now what’s the matter?”

“Actually just once or twice or are you just saying that?”

“Well I own a dildo if that answers the question-

“What? Wait- what!?”

“God you’re so excitable,” Altair reached out and pinched his cheek. “Yappy yappy excitable dog boyfriend.”

“Ahg!” Desmond batted at him playfully. “I didn’t know that.”

“You don’t know a _lot_ of things about me,” Altair said both serious and to be annoying. “Also we’re here,” he pulled the car into the parking lot of a bed and breakfast that also had the _swankiest_ sushi place in a hundred miles attached to it: Ambrosia.

Desmond’s eyes got big. “Woah,” he said.

“Surprised?”

“Yes,” Desmond said. “You said you’re paying?”

Altair snorted, “Yeah. Go easy on me. My gramps will get suspicious if he sees a huge bill at a place like this. Though he’s used to me buying expensive dinners on holidays.”

“How come?”

Altair’s brow twitched like he was trying not to let some tell show. “Cause I’m usually alone,” he said.

“Oh,” Desmond said, feeling sorta bad for him. “Well you aren’t alone this time,” he said to try and brighten the suddenly dim mood. “I’m here.”

“Yeah,” Altair said, sounding sort of relieved. “Shall we? Our reservation is for seven-fifteen,” he glanced at the clock and it read seven-ten. Desmond nodded and they got out of the car.

Desmond went around as Altair clicked the button to lock it and went right up next to him, getting _right_ into his personal space. Altair looked slightly uncomfortable by the sudden invasion of his space but he also didn’t stop Desmond when he leaned in real close. Desmond got the wonderfully satisfying experience when Altair’s entire face turned red when he whispered “I wanna see your toy,” into his ear.

Altair swallowed thickly. “Lets just make it through dinner,” he coughed to clear his throat. Desmond laughed at him a little.

“Lead the way. I’m excited. My parents promised to take me here for my eighteenth birthday,” Desmond said grabbing Altair’s hand.

“And try not to be weird-

“No promises bud,” Desmond grinned.

“Well don’t say shit like… what you just said,” Altair stammered.

Desmond snickered. “All right. Now we gonna go or not? I’m hungry.” Altair nodded and led him into the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also jfc sorry guys I swear I didn’t mean to be away for a year and a half o.o  
> According to my project I wrote the last chapter September of 2014. YIKES!!


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f you don't follow [my blog](http://xazz.tumblr.com) you really should. If nothing else my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com). Things get posted there first and so does news on what's going on with various stories and such. Incluuuuding information about the new update schedule!

By the time they got back to Altair’s house it was almost ‘late’. They’d spent a long time at the sushi restaurant, eating, talking, and playing a long game of footsies. Once they’d finished they’d stopped at the DQ on the way home and Desmond had bought dessert. Now they were back at Altair’s and Desmond was full and actually kinda tired.

“I’ll be honest,” Desmond said as Altair pulled up to the house. The outdoor light went on from the proximity and Altair turned off the car. “I really don’t want to walk from the car to the house. I am so _full_.”

Altair snorted a little. “But if you don’t who’s gonna help me eat those chocolates in that box I got?”

“Well,” Desmond pursed his lips at him. “I guess.”

Altair grinned, “All I have to mention is food and you’ll do basically anything, huh?”

“Not anything,” Desmond said and got out of the car. Altair followed his example and they went into the house.

“So, what? What food doesn’t cover sex does?” Altair teased him as he unlocked the front door. Even after a minute in the heat of Florida winter the cool touch of the AC was a welcome respite.

“Well I am a guy,” Desmond said. “I like both those things. Like you’re any different Mr. I-was-too-scared-to-ask-my-crush-out-so-we-just-had-hookups.”

“You never asked me out either,” Altair said defensively.

“Yeah well, you’re you.”

“You just motioned to all of me,” Altair said.

“Exactly.”

“You’re really dumb,” Altair huffed. “Which is weird cause you’re _sooooo_ smart,” and Desmond grinned when Altair gave him a peck on the lips.

“I’m very smart,” Desmond agreed. “Smart enough to know I need to lay down for like an hour and digest all that _amazing_ food we just had.”

“Wanna watch a movie?”

“Depends. What kind?”

“I have First Class on blue ray, its my favorite.”

“You like the X-men?” Desmond asked and Altair nodded.

“Also James McAvoy is _pretty_ dreamy,” Altair said and Desmond followed him to his media room. On the way he grabbed Snow from the couch.

“Can’t say no to those pretty blue eyes huh?” Desmond asked, half teasing, half serious.

Altair looked over his shoulder as he opened the media room door, “I like brown better,” he said simply. Desmond’s face heated up a little at that. His eyes were brown.

“You’re doing that thing I hate again,” Desmond said.

“What?” Altair asked, concerned.

“Being sweet.”

Altair sputtered. “You are just the most sarcastic person I’ve ever met, and Malik is my best friend,” Altair said with a grin.

“Yeap,” Desmond said proudly and went into the media room. He stepped out of his shoes and threw himself onto the big couch. He maneuvered himself around a bit and took off his belt as Altair went to the collection of cases along the wall and pulled out a blue-ray. He fed it to his PS3 and joined Desmond on the couch. Desmond couldn’t get comfortable though. “So maybe a dumb question-

“You mean you ask others?”

Desmond gave him a look. “You mind if I take my pants off?”

“Only if I can too,” Altair said.

Desmond snorted, “Yes. Please,” and he yanked his off, tossing them off the big couch bed. “Better,” he proclaimed, stretching his legs out in front of him, holding Snow to his chest. Altair took his off as well with a content sigh and flung them and his socks off to the far wall. He started playing the movie before looking over at Desmond, then down. “Don’t even start,” Desmond said.

“What?” Altair asked, innocent. “I can’t admire how _sweet_ you look with Snow?” it was only sort of teasing and Desmond felt the old butterflies spontaneously spawn when Altair leaned over to nuzzle him. They ended up kissing a bit while the movie started. “Okay, enough of that.”

“Seriously? You’re gonna hold off on make-outs for a movie?”

“My _favorite_ movie,” Altair stressed. “And yeah, I am, shush,” he said and pointedly pressed his finger to his lips to make sure Desmond knew he was serious. Desmond just smiled at him, thinking he was silly, but did shush.

Desmond had seen First Class enough times to not need to pay super close attention to it. Every now and then he’d look over at Altair who was completely engrossed. Like he hardly even noticed Desmond when he decided he wanted to sit against Altair and just mechanically fit Desmond under his arm, against his side. Altair was not kidding when he said this was his favorite movie. And yeah, it was a pretty good movie, but Desmond didn’t get why it was Altair’s favorite. At least not until the training montage and the gun scene between Charles and Erik.

“Oh my _god!_ ” Desmond suddenly cried, startling Altair.

“What? What’s the matter?” Altair asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen.

“You fucking fanboy,” Desmond laughed.

“I— what? Yeah? I like the X-men,” Altair said, pausing the movie. Of course he did. He didn’t want to miss a single moment.

“You don’t own a single X-men comic,” Desmond was just grinning ear to ear. Good to know Altair was his own version of complete nerd.

“They’re on my iPad,” Altair said automatically. “Otherwise I’d own too many and it’d clutter up my room.”

“Even better!”

“I don’t… why are you so happy? I’m worried. I’ve only seen Kaczmarek this happy, and that’s when he learns something juicy.”

“Its just its so cute.”

“What?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah you. Shipping Charles and Erik, god the look on your face- ah you’re blushing!” he cried and let go of Snow to sit up. Altair’s face was bright red. Even in just the light from the projector Desmond could see Altair’s mortification that _someone_ knew about his shipping. After a second he just covered his face with both hands. “Oh don’t be embarrassed,” Desmond said and tugged on Altair’s wrist. “I think its sweet.”

“When you say it it makes me feel dumb,” Altair said, voice muffled by his hands.

“What’s dumb? That you have a ship? We finally have something actually in common now! This is great.”

Altair peered at him from between his fingers, “It is?”

“Yeah. Though I’m not much into X-men. I’m more a Steve Rogers, Bucky guy.”

Altair stopped, stared at him through his fingers, then dropped his hands. “You’re serious right now,” he said.

“Yeap.” Desmond leaned over and kissed him. Altair prickled half a second before relaxing. “I think its great,” he told Altair.

“Do _not_ tell Kaczmarek,” Altair said sternly.

“I don’t tell him anything about us honestly,” Desmond shrugged.

“Good,” Altair said.

He got that look in his eye like he wanted to ask something but didn’t. “What is it?”

“I kinda wanna get back to the movie,” he confessed.

Desmond snorted, “Yeah. I’d think so,” he said and settled back down. As he did his phone, which were in his jeans, beeped. “Damnit, hold on.” He crawled over Altair to get to his jeans and fished his phone out of the pocket. “Aw, shit,” Desmond rubbed the back of his neck, reading the text he got from his dad.

“What’s the matter?” Altair asked.

“Just my dad reminding me to be home before midnight.”

“What time is it now?”

“Nine thirty,” Desmond said.

“Well that’s still two and a half hours from now. Its half way over,” Altair beckoned him. Desmond texted his dad back saying he’d be home by then and then crawled back over to Altair. Altair welcomed him back under his arm and Desmond snuggled close. “Wouldn’t it be easier to tell your parents?”

“Fuck no. Then curfew would be at _ten_ ,” Desmond huffed. “It was for Dylan, Duncan, and it’d be like that for me.”

“Well we’d just have to budget time better then,” Altair said, squeezing Desmond’s shoulder.

“Pfft, yeah. C’mon, play the movie so we can watch the lovebirds totally destroy each other.”

“Don’t remind me,” Altair grumbled and made the movie play again. This time Desmond was really watching Altair’s face, glancing at him more often. It made him smile. Altair was just so into it. So into watching these two characters have such an intense relationship. As the movie was drawing to a close and they were on the Cuban beach Altair actually closed his eyes at the bullet scene. Desmond just grinned. His boyfriend was absolutely adorable.

Finally the movie was over and Altair looked down at Desmond. Desmond was looking right back and smiling hugely. “Did you even _watch_ the movie?”

“Parts of it. You were much more entertaining to watch,” he sat up again. “For a jock you sure do like geeky things.”

“A jock is just a sports nerd,” Altair said.

“Mhm,” Desmond went and straddled Altair’s thighs. “I like knowing we have more things in common than the obvious,” he told Altair and kissed him again. Altair made an agreeable noise in the back of his throat and kissed him back.

This time around Desmond was a bit more aggressive than usual. He was super into it and their conversation on the way to Ambrosia came to mind. So he just went for it and Altair reciprocated but he thought he detected a hint of hesitation a few times Desmond kissed him. He wrote it off as imagining it and when he pushed his hips against Altair’s Altair pushed back in like. There wasn’t much to hide behind with the thin fabric of their underwear. Even better that Altair wore boxer briefs.

Desmond put one hand down between them and he felt Altair move awkwardly. Warning bells started to go off for Desmond. “You okay?” Desmond asked him.

“Yeah, uh-huh,” Altair said in a very uncharacteristic way.

“No, really. Do you want me to stop?” Desmond said seriously. Altair had that look again. “You can tell me.”

“Yeah I—“ he blew a raspberry. “Its really dumb. I get uncomfortable when pushed into things. Anything.”

“So, you don’t wanna have sex?”

“I didn’t say that,” Altair scowled at him.

“Oh good cause I thought we were about to have the tamest Valentine’s ever,” Desmond said.

“I just,” he huffed. “Just move,” and Desmond got off him. “Lets go to my room. I’m super careful about where I let guys around if nothing else.”

“Cause your grandpa?”

“Basically.”

“Hey man, whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Altair eyed him. “You’re so chill about this. Last guy I asked to stop cause I was uncomfortable called me a huge drama queen.”

“I’m just chill in general,” Desmond said. “That and I’ve been in uncomfortable sexual situations before.”

“Really?”

“My last boyfriend. The really jealous possessive one? Yeah, he made me uncomfortable a lot,” Desmond said.

“I don’t, do I?”

“Nope,” Desmond beamed at him. “I always feel great with you.” That made Altair smile too. “So whatever you want.” Desmond followed Altair out the room, scooping up his jeans and shoes as he went so he could leave them in Altair’s room and he wouldn’t have to look for them before he went home.

Altair’s room was soothing when they got in there. Desmond assumed that had to be a reason Altair felt comfortable in it. Once Desmond closed the door he was pleasantly surprised by Altair kissing him. This time there was no hesitation or uncomfortable vibes. Desmond kissed Altair back without guilt and wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Been looking forward to this,” Desmond managed to get out between their lips being connected. Altair grinned a little at that as he kissed Desmond again. They stumbled to the bed, hardly separating to walk properly and Desmond pushed Altair onto his bed and followed after.

They took their time. Not like Desmond had to race home (yet) so they could afford some time. The rest of their clothes were pulled off and pushed off the edge of the bed. Altair’s skin was warm under Desmond’s hands and the cold air of the house made them both shiver.

“I’m too cold for this,” Altair complained at one point.

“Its your house. Why the hell is it so cold?” Desmond asked even as he crawled under the covers.

“Because it doesn’t feel cold when I’m fully clothed!” Altair said and that made Desmond laugh. Altair caught him with a kiss, half pulling the blanket away from Desmond’s chest.

Altair made his way under the covers with Desmond and pressed himself flush against him. There was a fair amount of grabbing, grinding and kissing, mapping out each other’s mouths and face and necks with their lips. Desmond was especially interested in the warm expanse of the side of Altair’s neck up to his ear which was warm and smelled like expensive cologne.

After a while Altair pushed him away and reached over to the side table. Desmond barely noticed. “Its like, ten fifty,” Altair announced.

“What?” Desmond’s head shot up and he looked at Altair, holding his droid. “Already?” He made an annoyed groan.

“Would your parents get mad if you stayed over ‘Clay’s’?” Altair asked.

“Probably. They’re super suspicious on Valentine’s Day when me or my brothers weren’t home by curfew. I’d prooobably get grounded and my dad would ask if I snuck off to another club,” he grimaced.

“Geeze. I thought hard ass military dads were just urban legend,” Altair said.

“Nope. They’re real and I have one,” Desmond said. “I need to leave at eleven forty five to get home on time. Like, out the door, on my bike.”

“Mmm,” Altair put his phone back down and rolled over to face him. “Well we can do something about this in that time at least,” he said and Desmond moaned when Altair started to jerk him off. “Tomorrow’s Friday. You should spend the night,” he said huskily.

“Uh-huh,” Desmond nodded in quick agreement. They’d literally spent over an hour just making out and giving themselves blue balls. It’d been pretty great of course but that didn’t mean Desmond wasn’t thinking about what they _could_ have been doing. Altair touching his dick was pretty high up on the ‘absolutely awesome’ list though, right under Altair sucking his dick and Altair fucking him. Basically anything involving Altair was on the list honestly.

Altair rolled onto his back and dragged Desmond with him. “Uh-oh,” Desmond said with a grin.

“Uh-oh?” Altair asked.

“I like the view too much from here,” he said.

“You’re stupid,” Altair teased him, his hand still working diligently over Desmond’s cock. Desmond reached down to play with Altair too since he was doing such a good job with Desmond. “Ah, yeah. That feels good,” Altair grunted, head tipping back a little, eyes lidding.

“So we’re just gonna… finish tomorrow?” he asked.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I planned on finishing tonight.” Desmond chuckled. “Sequel tomorrow.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of a sequel,” Desmond said, leaning down to kiss Altair gently.

“Who doesn’t like a sequel,” Altair agreed with a slight smile.

Desmond didn’t bother to hold on when he had to come. He just did it and it felt _great_. Like ninety percent of all orgasms, it was the best one he’d ever had. To be fair it was better than most because he didn’t have to do it himself. Altair was more than happy to do the entire service for him and his grip was _just_ right. Hand jobs were a bit of a nice change too since before they’d started dating it’d been a lot more penetrative and Desmond could appreciate a good hand job. Not his favorite, but he liked the variation.

“That felt awesome,” Desmond said, breathing hard, leaning over Altair, supporting himself with both hands.

“I’d hope so,” Altair said and ran his now sticky hands up Desmond’s torso, dragging pre and cum up. Both sexy and unsexy at the same time. “My turn?”

“Uh-huh,” Desmond said and pushed Altair’s hands off him, holding them in both of his. Altair looked up at Desmond impatiently while he got his breath back. “Okay,” he said and released Altair’s hands and ducked down under the blanket. Altair gave a surprised cry that turned into a deep groan when Desmond went down on him.

“Fuckkk,” Altair groaned and grabbed Desmond’s hair tightly before his grip loosened. Desmond just sucked Altair’s cock, focusing mostly on the head since putting too much in his mouth would trigger his gag reflex and he’d vomit. Literally the most bullshit thing in the world was a gay guy with a super sensitive gag reflex. Especially when sleeping with a guy who could deep throat like a champ. Talk about insecurity.

Altair didn’t mind that Desmond used his hands as much as his mouth because of that. Desmond would hope not if the way his body moved when he finally came. Desmond made sure to pull the blanket away so Altair didn’t make a mess _all_ over his bed. When he was done Altair was just staring at the ceiling, blissed out and happy. Desmond crawled back up next to him.

“You’re deceptively good at that,” Altair said, glancing at him.

“I do my best,” Desmond said and kissed him on the cheek. Altair turned his head and they ended up making out again. “Mm! Time,” he added.

“God damnit your parents are seriously killing the vibe here,” Altair grumbled and grabbed his phone again. “Eleven fifteen,” he said and dropped it back on the table.

Desmond sighed. “Right. I should probably think about cleaning up to leave.”

“Shower?” Altair asked, Desmond nodded enthusiastically. They rolled out of bed and went to Altair’s bathroom.

“I think I left a mess on your sheets,” Desmond asked as Altair turned on the water.

“I’ve literally made worse.”

“Gross,” Desmond said.

“What? I was thirteen too,” Altair said and made Desmond laugh. Altair kissed him. “That’s gonna be a problem for us?”

“What?”

“We both like making each other laugh.”

“Aaaah, excellent,” Desmond said and pulled Altair into the shower. “Have to admit,” he said as he lathered up some soap in his hand. “Not looking forward to school tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Kaczmarek?”

“Yeap.”

“He’s such a weird dude, Desmond,” Altair said. “How do you stand him?”

“Same way you stand Ezio. He’s my friend.”

Altair grimaced, “Okay, I deserved that one.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Doing anything important tomorrow then?”

“Well, other than you, no,” Desmond said cockily. Altair flushed a little and made himself busy with washing.

“Valentine’s Day sex is cliche anyway,” Altair said.

“You wouldn’t even know,” Desmond gave him a look.

“Got me,” Altair smirked and raised his hands in a ‘what can you do?’ sort of way, his palms facing Demond. “Ahg, Desmond, again?” he complained when Desmond washed his hair and _immediately_ put his hair into a mohawk.

“I think mohawks are hot, sue me,” Desmond said and brushed Altair’s suds filled hair _just so_ to make a perfect mohawk. “You’d look hot as hell in one,” he added.

“I cut my hair when spring football starts,” he said. “The entire team gets the same haircut. Its really stupid and really traditional.”

“That means?”

“Probably _not_ getting a mohawk unless everyone is like ‘lets get mohawks and look like a bunch of tools’.”

“Altair. Hate to break it to you. You’re a football player in high school. You are, by definition, a tool.”

“Fuck off Miles,” Altair said making Desmond snicker at Altair’s pissy face.

“Long as this tool stays around you can be anything you want,” Desmond said and gave Altair’s cock a few tugs.

“You are gonna get grounded if you keep that up,” Altair grunted. “Cause I don’t think I’d let you leave.”

“Promises promises,” Desmond said. Altair had that look in his eye, the ‘I’m going to hit that’ look he got like when he’d call Desmond over before winter break. Huge turn on. Altair was also right. At this rate he _was_ going to get grounded again.

“Finish up,” Altair said and tore his eyes away from Desmond so he could breathe properly again. “Sooner you leave and we deal with school the sooner you can come back.”

“Now that’s a promise I like the sound of,” Desmond said, nuzzling him. Altair hummed a little before Desmond pulled away and finished washing up. Altair finished at about the same time and they stepped out of the shower. Desmond gave himself a thorough drying before going to get his clothes. He yanked on the clothes he’d come to Altair’s in earlier that afternoon as Altair meandered out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, hair still dripping wet.

“Nah, no problem. I’ll just be over here, in pain,” Desmond said, looking Altair up and down several times.

“If I wanted you to be in pain I wouldn’t be wearing a towel,” Altair said and sat on the bed, pulling one leg up to rest on it horizontally.

“Oh you dick,” Des hissed a little, squinting at Altair who just smiled pleasantly.

“Yeap,” Altair said nicely. Desmond pulled on his jacket. “I should buy a leather jacket,” he said thoughtfully.

“No way. One of us needs to have a cooler jacket than the other. You have all those hoodies-

“Well one less since you stole that N7 one of mine.”

“You got to enjoy it _plenty_. Not like you even wear it. Besides you know you like taking if off me way more than wearing it,” Desmond stuck his tongue out at Altair.

“That was fun,” Altair agreed. He got up and went over to Desmond, pushing his arms out to either side and put his own right next to Desmond’s. “Too narrow for me to wear,” he frowned.

“Yeah, cause its _my_ leather jacket.”

“I’ll just have to enjoy it in other ways,” Altair said, grabbing the bottom. He began to zip it up very slowly as he said, “Like you wearing nothing but. Or a white-T underneath. That’d be pretty hot.” Desmond felt pretty warm by the time he had zipped it all the way up, his breath tickling Desmond’s face.

Desmond checked his iPhone. “Aaaand, I have to go,” he bemoaned.

“I’ll walk you out.”

“In your towel?”

“No one else is here,” Altair shrugged and they left the room. Altair stopped at the media room room. “You want to take Snow?” he asked.

“Mmm,” Desmond gave it a moment of thought. “No,” he said and saw Altair’s heart drop a little. “He should stay with you, so you can think of me when I’m not here.”

Altair looked at him, “That is the corniest line I’ve ever heard,” Altair said blandly.

“Oh c’mon that was _good_.”

“I’ll hold onto him,” Altair said and went inside to get the stuffed animal.

Desmond picked up the box of chocolates on the sofa and his helmet on the kitchen counter. They stood at the door. “Well, see you tomorrow,” Desmond said.

“Try not to fall all over yourself when you see me like you did today,” Altair teased him.

“Right,” Desmond said and leaned in to give him a kiss. Altair cupped his face in one hand when they kissed. “Never gonna get tired of that,” he didn’t mean to say it aloud, but he ended up doing so. They both blushed a little.

“Snow wants a goodnight kiss too,” Altair said and used the bear to block his face from Desmond’s view.

Desmond chuckled, “Of course.” He gave his bear a peck on the head. “Now before I get grounded,” he said.

“Yes. Go. If you get grounded I’m going to have to sneak into your house-

“That would be amazing-

“ _Go_ ,” and Altair practically shooed him out. Desmond grinned the entire time and half stumbled out the door. He put on his helmet and went over to his bike. He got on and looked at Altair’s house. He could see part of Altair’s face looking through the curtains. Man his boyfriend was so cute, trying to act like he wasn’t a big, shy, idiot.

He turned his motorcycle on and headed home. He got home _just_ in time too. He said goodnight to his dad, who was still awake, and went to bed with a smile on his face.


	65. Part Two: More

Altair stared up at the ceiling of his room. He hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He should. He was tipsy and tired. It was way too late for him to be awake. But here he was. Awake.

He looked over at the person next to him. Desmond Miles was out like a light. He slept on his back like a corpse. Altair blinked a few times at him, still surprised. He was sure he hadn’t been _that_ drunk to crash into Miles like that. Yet, here they were.

Allah help him he was a complete _moron_. His grandpa was home. He shouldn’t have brought a boy home. He rubbed his eyes and groped blindly for his phone. His fingers met cool glass and he pulled it to him. He opened the screen.

‘I did something stupid,’ he texted Malik.

‘Where the fuck are you?’ Malik texted back. ‘Did you drive? If you drove I’m gonna beat your stupid ass!’

‘Taxi. I’m fine <3’

‘Don’t you heart emoticon me Altair >:C’

‘I brought a boy home.’

‘Idiot.’

‘Special boy. Made an exception.’ ‘What do I do?’

‘Kick him out.’

‘He’s asleep already.’

‘Kick him out in the morning. Az finds you with a guy could get ugly.’

‘Yeah. Shit.’

‘Go the fuck to sleep. You can have a panic attack about it later.’

‘Why would I do that?’

‘GOOD NIGHT Altair’

Altair put his phone back and stared at the ceiling a bit longer. He closed his eyes but they didn’t stay closed for long. At least he thought they didn’t. The next time he opened his eyes his alarm was going off. Shit. Time to get up. He shifted and reached across his bed. Why was he on the far side of his bed again?

When he opened his eyes it took every ounce of power he had not to _freeze_ when he saw Miles staring at him. He played it cool and acted like nothing was weird. Yeah totally _not_ weird a straight football player had another guy in his bed. Nothing weird about that _at all_. Well to be fair, he usually didn’t bring home his school mates. He either hooked up with guys who went to Marathon and didn’t give a fuck, or with the cute gay tourists who came to party and have a good time and didn’t give him a second thought. Better yet he didn’t have to talk to any of them long. All he had to do was flash them his pretty amber eyes and smile a little and most of them were all set.

Still. No one knew that. Well except Malik. But Malik was always was the exception for everything wasn’t he?

“Well,” Altair said slowly, acting unaffected even though he wanted to crawl out of his skin with Miles fucking _staring_ at him. “This is different.”

He needed to diffuse this and get Desmond _out_ of his fucking house. His gramps was probably at work already, it was safe to get him out without anyone seeing. What was a good excuse to get a guy out of your bed and house that wasn’t supposed to be here? First things first, get away from Miles. He got out of bed. Now the excuse.

“I’ve got work, so just see yourself out.” It came out meaner than he intended but just went with it.

Altair made sure he was paying attention, he seemed shell shocked by the entire thing. Useless. “Right,” he squeaked, his face bunching up in a way Altair could actually describe as cute. Okay, situation dealt with, now Altair needed to go somewhere else. He remembered the text message conversation he’d had with Malik last night. Have your panic attack later. Yeah, great idea. Don’t have it in front of this guy for starters.

Altair went to the bathroom and closed the door. He put his ear to the wood and listened. Miles fumbled around, stumbling a bit and Altair winced when he heard Miles trip on his jeans. He was even more useless than Altair was. Then he was gone. Altair opened the door slowly and peered outside. Room was empty save for his clothes from last night scattered around the floor. He checked outside his room, sticking his head out and saw Miles basically _bolt_ to the front door and out. Once he was gone Altair breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in his room Altair grabbed his jeans from last night, yanked them on and sat on the bed. He stared at one of his wall scrolls across from him and put his hand on his face. Now that he could stop for a second his heart was _racing_. Not full blown panic attack. He thought he’d kept it together pretty well. He texted Malik, source of calm. Ironic since Malik was like, the most unstable guy Altair knew.

‘You awake yet?’

‘Yes.’

Altair just skipped to calling him. “Have fun last night?” Malik asked when he picked up.

“Shut up,” Altair muttered.

“Well you’re not in full freak out mode, so I’d consider this an improvement compared to when you accidentally brought that tourist kid home.”

“Don’t remind me,” Altair said, hand pressed to his eyes. “Its… different.”

“Oh yeah? And how is it different for my numb skull friend?”

“I did something _really_ stupid last night. Kinda worked out.”

“Except the freak out bit.”

“Mm,” Altair said.

“So, what’s different?”

“Well I found out my crush is gay, so that’s the good different part,” Altair said in a candid way to mask how stupid he felt. It was so stupid. He was stupid. He didn’t even know how to deal with it.

“Wait… he is? Nice. This is good. You gonna tell me who it is?”

“No,” Altair said. He always kept his crushes and feelings for guys bottled up. Malik knew he liked someone, but not who. He was just… scared. Plenty of shit to be afraid of. His grandpa finding out he was gay and throwing him out. Altair’s _fantastic_ social skills that made it difficult for him to talk to people and who knew what ignorant shit would come out his mouth. He was fine when he could fake it, when he could pretend it didn’t matter. Scared of rejection. And there went the stomach drop. Good job Altair, you just made yourself sick.

“Alright,” Malik huffed. “You get him to leave though?”

“Yeah,” Altair said. Of course he’d never come up with a good reason for them to stay. Then what? Then Altair would have to talk to them and _ruin_ everything is what. Better they weren’t around. “Uuuuuhg. I’m a fucking idiooot.”

“You’re fine,” Malik said.

“No. I’m an idiot.”

“Alright, fine, you’re a moron and a fool. Feel better?”

“A little.”

“Weirdo. You should just fucking talk to him Altair. Like, he’s gay, and you’re hot. He’d probably say yes-

“No. No no no absolutely not,” Altair said firmly.

“Fine,” Malik scoffed. “Whatever. Be weird.”

“You like my weird.”

“Yeaaaah,” Malik huffed. “That all? I was going to hang out with Leo today,” though he didn’t seem as thrilled about it as he used to be.

“Yeah. That’s all. Thanks. Malik,” Altair said stiltedly.

“Yeah yeah. Now make yourself some cookies or something I’ll see you later.”

“Heh. Yeah,” Altair said.

“Don’t use all the sugar in the house though. You know Az gets all grumpy when you use all the sugar.”

“I know.”

“Okay. Later,” and Altair said goodbye.

He hung up and then hung his head. “You idiot,” he muttered to himself and dragged himself out of bed to the bathroom like he’d planned in the first place. He shook himself a little, took off his pants and got into the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo. We're gonna be hanging out with Altair for a while. If there is anything about Altair you'd like to know more about, now's the time to ask. If I like the idea/its interesting, I'll write it. Otherwise we're gonna be reliving (a small) part of B4M from Altair's pov cause the poor kid makes my chest hurt. Also the rest of the story will be better from Altair's pov.
> 
> See you next month *salutes*


	66. Chapter 66

Sophomore year Altair had had four classes with a new military kid who'd shown up three weeks after the end of winter break named Desmond Miles. Altair had thought absolutely nothing of him at first. For Altair school was just something he did every day but the people in it were wallpaper. He didn't care about them. The only bright point in the entire boring place was JV football practice in the fall. Only varsity played spring football but it wasn't as popular as fall football and there weren't really any games. It was basically just practice and practice games. Since fall football was over though Altair just sort of existed in school. He hung out with his friends when they asked but otherwise just went home and found something to do.

They'd had a big project due for history and everyone had been freaking out about it. Altair had finished it the first week they'd been given it because he had nothing better to do that week. Today it was due and they were starting presentations. Doing twenty two presentations would take days at the glacial pace this class went at. Altair sat in the back of the class with his hoodie up and quietly listened to his music. He was a good kid and never caused any trouble or gave the teacher a hard time, their eyes just slid off him and he was partially sure half his teachers didn't know what he actually looked like anyway. 

There were four presentations today and the first three were drawn out and stumbling. Altair paused long enough to hear the topic and decide he wasn't interested in it before zoning out again. Instead he wrote in his notebook. Not a journal, Altair didn't have nearly an interesting enough life to keep a journal. But he kept a notebook of thoughts and ideas, letting his mind spin ideas and theories out for later research or reference.

The last presentation finally came and Altair nearly groaned in relief. His was tomorrow and he couldn't wait. The last person of the day was a kid he didn't recognize meaning he was probably a seasonal student. The only reason Altair stopped for more than a brief moment was because the kid seemed actually halfway confidant about his project. Altair paused his music to listen for a minute or two before inevitably realizing this kid was as bad as the rest and going back to his own thing.

Altair kept his music off the rest of class and then his presentation was over. Altair blinked. He’d just willingly listened to some kid’s project about… what? He literally couldn’t remember. Weird.

The bell rang shortly after and Altair went to his next class. Malik was in this class and they sat right next to each other. Malik sat up front but to the side and Altair sat in the furthest seat possible from the teacher’s desk. Altair glanced around his brow furrowed. How had he never even noticed that he had this kid two periods in a row?

“Mal,” Altair muttered, leaning across the aisle some.

“Hmmm?” Malik asked, taking his textbook and notebook from his backpack.

“Who’s that?” he nodded with his head to the mystery boy.

“Who? Huh. Not a clue. New kid I think,” Malik said. Altair nodded and listened when the teacher called roll call. Desmond. Definitely a new kid, he hadn’t grown up with anyone named Desmond. That was the thing about little cities like Key West. You really did grow up with all the same kids. There were a handful of elementary schools, two middle schools, and a single high school for the entire lower keys with only Sugarloaf between Key West and Marathon to give the upper lower keys kids a break from the thirty plus mile commute to school every day. That didn’t include the christian schools around but no one really paid them much attention and they were microscopic in comparison. So when you went to school in the lower keys, you knew basically every single kid by around middle school and by high school you met the rest because there were literally no other options. At least not for Key West kids. You could go to Marathon if you lived around Big Pine or wanted to drive, but that was about fifty miles one way and no one wanted to do that on US1 where the speed limit was forty-five and one hundred percent torturous.

Altair forgot about Desmond after that class. He didn’t care a lot about his classmates other than his little circle of friends so that he didn't remember some kid he'd never met didn't mean much to Altair.

A few weeks later Altair saw Kazmarek hanging out with the new kid. Back when they'd been in elementary Altair and Kaczmarek had been acquaintance friends through virtue of being in the same class five days a week for an entire year. He wasn't surprised to see the crazy blond had made a new friend, if he remembered right the kid had had spectacular social skills even at third grade and literally everyone had been the kid’s friend. What  _ was _ a surprise was seeing the two of them sitting super close together with said new kid at lunch. Like  _ uncomfortably _ close. Like heads were almost touching close.

Altair never got that close with his friends. Unless they were girls friends didn't get that close. Mainly because boys were literally the dumbest people on the planet and it wasn't rare Altair lamented the fact that he was gay because boys were just so  _ stupid _ while every girl he knew was amazing and brilliant and  _ with it. _ He wasn't even a little bi either so there was nothing for it. Regardless, guys just didn't get that close because ‘no homo’ or whatever.

Then he'd finished walking past them on his way to the car to get lunch and that was the end of the thought. Any care he had was gone and he didn't worry about it anymore.

By the end of the year Altair realized he sat about two seats behind Miles in their geometry class. Two seats and the kid had a runner’s ass. It was literally the most distracting thing in the entire world too.

During the summer he didn't have to see Miles at all. Of course not, they hung out with different people. Altair and his grandpa visited family in DC over the summer. He didn’t have a big family but it was family. 

His mom had been a first generation American with Azrael being brought over from Israel when he'd been a boy. Eve had had no had no siblings. Altair's dad had come over from Syria for college and got a green card when he and his mom had gotten married. Azrael had a brother though and they had two kids, a boy and a girl and they both had kids like ten years younger than Altair. Still it was something at least and they were all they had since the rest of the family was still back in the Middle East. 

Altair had liked DC. He and his gramps went to the Smithsonian and saw all the big impressive law buildings. They went to theater shows and toured the country’s capital for a few weeks. They'd had fun and his aunt and gramps cooked every night, nights they didn't eat in they went to eat somewhere that one of Azrael’s old friends owned. The food was always fantastic and by the time vacation was over he’d gained like fifteen pounds.

Then the vacation had ended and they went back home. And wouldn't you know it but the day after they got back Altair was going into Key West to grocery shop and fill the fridge up again when someone ran by his car. He followed them boredly with his eyes as they ran past as he waited for a break in traffic and then perked up.

It was that Miles kid.

He was super tanned now, dark as hell from the sun and maybe some actual ethnicity in his blood, shirtless and wearing shorts, just running down the side of the road thinking nothing of it. Altair stared after him. He stared for so long he actually missed an opening and had to wait again. What the hell was that guy doing? Why the hell was he  _ hot _ ? Like runner’s ass aside he’d never given the kid another thought and the, there he was, hot and shirtless and sweating his ass off in the hot Florida morning.

Altair went to the store and did his best not to think about it. He was going out again the next day to hang out with Ezio around the same time and wouldn’t you know it. Miles was out there again.

From there it somehow became a habit that Altair somehow ended up at US1 around the time Miles ran by, either he went to the gas station or he was going somewhere or he showed up specifically to see the shirtless wonder. Miles never missed a fucking day. After two weeks Altair knew he had a problem and it was weirding him out.

Malik was literally the only person in Altair’s entire life who knew he was gay. The only one. Malik had… a complicated sexual orientation Altair didn’t try and understand and Malik didn’t mind that he didn’t. It was something along the lines of ‘they cute and smile a lot? I’d fuck it’ and that was about the end of the criteria. Basically Malik was a bigger whore than Altair until he’d started dating Leonardo during the summer of sophomore year. As in, he’d get a hookup (or two) every party they went to. It was weirdly low key though and no one knew Malik was like that, except Altair.

So when Altair had a relationship issue, he went to Malik. Probably not the best idea since Malik didn’t really ‘do’ relationships, but he was the only one Altair could complain to about boys to.

They were hanging out at Altair’s, Altair was making lunch, Azrael was out at work, training a new chef at one of his restaurants. “So there's this guy that runs every day down US1.”

“Lots of runners on US1,” Malik said, not looking at him, but at his phone.

“Yeah but I keep going up there around the time he’s there and see him run by.”

“So eye candy, big deal.”

“I mean I’ve been going there like every day,” Altair said. “I’m kinda concerned.”

“He hot?”

“Yeah.”

“Eye candy,” Malik said, still looking at his phone.

“He’s one of our classmates,” Altair said. “I think I… kinda like him?”

Malik stopped looking at his phone and very deliberately turned off the screen and set it down. Malik didn’t give a shit about Altair’s relationships or his dumb closet crushes or the guys he hooked up with. Malik didn’t care about  _ any _ of that stuff. What Malik  _ did _ care about was Altair’s mental health, which could sometimes be a bit strained by being a gay orphan raised by his conservative Muslim, grandfather. Crushes for Altair were terrible things. He didn’t do anything halfway so when he liked someone he… could get a bit obsessive or do stupid or unhealthy things.

“You what?” Malik asked.

“I think I like him?”

“Have you talked to him?”

Altair looked down at the frying pan he was working with. “Well… no,” he admitted awkwardly.

“So he’s not gay.”

“I dunno?” he shrugged, not looking up.

“Altair, don’t chase straight guys, it leads to nothing. Well not nothing. It leads to bullshit really.”

“I’m noooot,” Altair huffed. “I don’t even know him. He’s just cute and seems pretty smart.”

“And probably also straight as fuck with a girlfriend. Don’t even bother. Forget about it.”

“Yeah, probably,” Altair agreed, but in the back of his mind he knew it wouldn’t be as easy. He’d been checking this kid out on the low all semester without even realizing it. “What if I have a crush on him?”

“I’ll throw my fucking phone at you for crushing on guy you’ve never talked to  _ again _ ,” Malik said, giving him a dark look. “And who you’ll never talk to either cause you’re a huge baby about talking to new people.”

“I’m shy okay, leave me alone,” Altair said defensively.

“You’re such a weird fucking jock, bro,” Malik said.

“I don’t need to be outgoing. I have you and Ezio for that.”

That made Malik laugh. “Yeah you do,” he said, grinning. “And is that done yet? It smells awesome and I’m starving over here,” he complained.

“Soon,” Altair said meanly.

“Weh,” Malik whined and Altair just grinned at him and went back to cooking.


	67. Chapter 67

By the time senior year rolled around Miles was a full on problem for Altair. Junior year he'd had nearly every class with the kid again then in a bizarre turn of events he had only one class with him in senior year. Chemistry, where he sat in the back of class with Caterina Sfortza, the raging liberal feminist at school. She was friends with Ezio and Maria so Altair was a peripheral friend of hers but they didn't really hang out. He always heard them talking though never dared to look back except if they got loud. They got along pretty well apparently, that worried Altair a bit.

 

He did have other things to worry about than that though. Like being first string running back for the football team. Compared to Malik and Ezio Altair was a pretty lithe guy, with a lower forty and magnetic hands. Yusuf, who'd somehow pulled first string quarterback out of his ass this year and had become a god over summer, loved throwing the ball exactly where Altair could be in about four seconds.

 

Football was the main time Altair spent with his friends. They rarely came over his house and they rarely went out together. So school and football were their main interaction points. This was completely because Altair hated socializing and being with his group of friends who could be loud and rowdy and completely draining in every way.

 

They played skirmish with the second string a lot and Altair and Yusuf spent a lot of time together during practice. The year before Yusuf had barely made benchwarmer for varsity, he had been the third backup quarterback and that was mainly because the coach had felt bad for him. Needless to say he's never gotten to play last year. This year though Yusuf was first string and threw like a fucking god. Every throw landed exactly where it was supposed to, which was to say; right into Altair's hands. No idea how that had happened since Yusuf had been away most of the summer. Altair didn't care, so long as Yusuf continued to throw the ball right into Altair's hands like last year's quarterback was sometimes bad at.

 

As first string there were plenty of scouts for college teams that came down to Key West looking for talent. Even their little school had several show up and look at everyone. Nearly all of them scouted Yusuf for his amazing throwing arm, and a few less than that scouted Altair. He felt bad when he told them he wasn't interested. He and Malik were planning on joining the Marines once school was over.

 

Malik's family was low income and didn't have the money to send either of their boys to college. Malik also didn't have the grades to get Bright Futures and while he was a good lineman he wouldn't get a full ride. The only way to get through college for him would be to apply to scholarships, FASFA and anywhere under the sun, work himself to death, or join the military. So he was enlisting as soon as they graduated, so he could serve his two years then get the fuck out of there and go to school to be a lawyer like he wanted.

 

Altair didn't have that problem. His gramps could afford to send him to just about any school he wanted, and he was on his way to getting a full ride from Bright Futures, and he was scouted by major colleges all over state. He had opportunity but he was enlisting too. His gramps had served in Vietnam and his dad had served in the navy a few years on a land base before the accident. He wanted to be part of something bigger than him. He also didn't want Malik to be alone. They'd promised each other they'd enlist together when they'd started high school and there had been no change of plans. His gramps said the two of them were idiotic for wanting to actually be part of the military. He hadn't agreed with his daughter marrying a seaman either, but he had resigned to let Altair make his own choices and mistakes in life.

 

The scouts still gave Altair their cards and said to call them if he changed his mind. He threw them out when they were gone. He didn't want to play football in college. He wanted to cook, and go to a culinary school, get a minor in English. Altair had  _ plans _ for college and they didn't include the ball and chain of a college football team. He loved playing the game but not forever. Maybe even in college he could come out a little, get an actual boyfriend. Not that he could ever tell his gramps about him.

 

Football was also one of the only times he didn't have the back of his mind on Miles while at school. Like, Altair had it bad. He'd never had a crush this bad before. Not ever. Not even when he first had realized he liked boys and specifically the cute Cuban boy in his homeroom in middle school that had lasted an entire semester. This was his first crush that had lasted so long, like just  _ years _ .

 

It didn't get any better as Altair learned more about the kid either. Straight A student, always had something to actually  _ add _ to any class discussion they had. He was nice to everyone and anyone Altair asked about him always had something good to say about him like he helped them study for a test or helped them with homework, even straight copying homework. He'd been part of the cross country team the first year he'd been at school but in senior year he'd stopped running for whatever reason. He also had a fucking  _ motorcycle _ . Altair could hardly handle that or their junior year when he had homeroom with him and half the time he'd show up to class wearing his leather jacket. It was a proven fact after all that people were a hundred percent hotter in leather jackets. And that didn't include the fact that he was cute as hell. He was an absolute white boy. But a white boy with some actual genetics like his family was from Eastern Europe or Eurasia, maybe even some Spanish for how well he just tanned right up in the summer.

 

Altair was completely hopeless but as senior year came around he also hadn't even talked to the kid. Instead he just watched from afar, way too scared to say anything to him. Altair didn't want to ruin the illusion about Miles he had that he was gay and find out he was straight. He didn't have a girlfriend but he hung around the Stillman girl so much he thought they might be a hookup. Not like nearly everyone in junior year didn't want to bang the hot Lucy Stillman. But then they were also all seventeen and most guys wanted to bang anything they could.

 

Still she seemed like a good match for him. She was smart, nice and didn't let anyone, especially guys, push her around. Altair did his best not to think about the fact that like most guys Altair had the misfortune of crushing on Miles was probably straight as you could get.

 

Weirdly though for as nice as Miles was and how much good people had to say about him when Altair made small conversation, he didn't have a lot of friends. Basically just four and Altair only knew the names of two of them. Sounded kinda like Altair except everyone in his graduating class knew who he was and more than a few girls would shamelessly flirt with him in class or between classes. He would, and this was awful of him, just push them off on Ezio. It was why Ezio couldn’t keep a girlfriend, because Ezio just turned into the rebound all the girls Altair turned down. Ones Ezio didn’t pick up someone else in their little group would. Gave Ezio the bad reputation as being a womanizer. Furthest thing from the truth of course, but you had to kinda dig to get to that part of Ezio that wasn’t just wannabe playboy with a charming smirk and a lot of his dad’s money.

 

So instead he just kinda watched from where he was and gave himself plenty to do at home so he didn’t think about his crush.

 

Then Ezio’s party had happened.  _ Then _ everything Altair had thought he’d known about Desmond Miles was suddenly different. Once he’d stopped freaking out about bringing a boy home from a party by accident he’d just sat around in a happy daze.

 

His crush was gay.

 

And like  _ really _ gay. Like gave really good head gay. It was surprising how many gay guys gave shitty head too. The ones that gave good head were usually pretty ridiculously gay though.

 

As Altair made himself breakfast the day after, it was Sunday, he just stopped what he was doing and then checked around to make sure Azrael wasn’t around. The old man was home but wasn’t in the kitchen area. Knowing he was alone and free of any shameful (Malik assured him was completely imaginary shame) repercussions Altair did a little dance. His crush was gay and this was the best day of his entire fucking high school  _ life _ .

 

He was so caught up in being excited he missed when Azrael came into the kitchen from down the hall. “What are you so excited about?” he asked and Altair jumped a foot and his face turned bright red.

 

“Uuh-” Altair said intelligently and was now very focused on their breakfast.

 

“Something good happen?” his gramps prodded.

 

“I did really good on a test last week,” Altair lied. He hated how good he was at lying to his grandpa. The man had raised him since he was eight years old. Still his grandpa was also a moderately conservative Muslim who prayed five times a day and who didn’t allow any pork products in any of his restaurants or the house, at all. He didn’t go so far as to vote Republican in elections but that was mainly because the assholes who’d drafted him to serve in a bullshit war overseas had majority been Republican and his gramps held a grudge a mile long and fifty years wide. So no, Altair wouldn’t tell his gramps why he was really happy.

 

“Oh? That’s wonderful, Altair,” Azrael said and Altair felt a bit guilty. “You sure it isn’t something else? Like... a girl?”

 

“ _ Jed _ No! Nothing like that,” Altair cried. Furthest thing from the truth imaginable actually!

 

Azrael just chuckled, “Yes yes, of course. Now mind the bacon, you’ll let it burn,” he said, coming around the counter. Turkey bacon, Altair had never had pork bacon. It always smelled delicious though.

 

“Yes  _ jiddo _ ,” he huffed a little as Azrael eased himself up onto a stool. 

 

“No girls interest you at all,  _ ibn _ ?” Azrael prodded.

 

Altair’s face wrinkled, “No. They’re all crazy.” 

 

Azrael laughed. “Well my boy, I can tell you one thing, that does  _ not _ change as they get older. Now, how’s our breakfast. Anything special today?”

 

“I made poached eggs,” Altair said. He liked poaching eggs. It was a weird, fun, thing he enjoyed. It was a weird thing that he called making breakfast with poached eggs fun. All his friends said he was a fucking weirdo about food but  _ none _ of them complained about it or when he got it in his head to invite them all over for dinner because he felt like cooking a huge amount of food. It was just him and his gramps here and they didn’t eat big meals. All his football friends did though. “And I found clementine marmalade in the pantry, I thought it’d taste good in a pancake but I haven’t made them yet.”

 

“What about a crepe?”

 

“I felt like pancakes,” Altair shrugged. He had the flat top on the stove getting hot next to him as he tended the bacon. Azrael nodded.

 

Altair finished the bacon and put it aside on bunch of paper towels to absorb the grease. Then he turned his attention to the flat top and his pancake mix. He had perfected pancake. Was still shit at crepes, but Altair could make a perfect fucking pancake. He stirred it a bit to make sure the marmalade was thoroughly mixed in and then dropped three small cakes onto the lightly greased flat top. They were a bit misshapen and once they were solid on the bottom he threw them out. He always made enough batter for three mess ups, which was how many he needed to figure out the consistency. His next ones were perfectly round medallions about as big as his palm. He poured four of them.

 

“So what are you doing today?” Azrael asked as they watched the pancakes cook.

 

“All my friends are still recovering from the party,” Altair said. Azrael frowned disapprovingly. His gramps would love nothing more than for Altair be a good Muslim boy and memorize the quran and pray five times a day. Altair had a  _ way _ more relaxed relationship with Allah and Islam than that though. Frankly he was of the mind still that if Allah was  _ soooooo _ great he wouldn’t have stolen both of Altair’s parents. Though it was also a bit difficult to worship a god and practice a religion where your sexual orientation wasn’t really accepted. Altair usually just prayed once or twice a day, most of the time at sunset, and maybe also in the morning at sunrise if he was awake for that. He sure as shit had prayed five times on Saturday, happier than he could remember in recent memory that his crush was gay as hell.

 

“You had fun at the party?” Azrael asked and Altair realized he’d started smiling without realizing just thinking about Miles.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You didn’t drive home I hope?”

 

“Of course not! Jiddo I am responsible,” Altair said. “I took a cab, everything was fine. You know how I feel about drunk driving.”

 

“Good,” he said. Altair would never ever  _ ever _ get behind a wheel drunk, or let someone who was drunk drive him anywhere. A drunk driver had killed his parents. It was never going to happen.

 

“But yeah, I had fun. I liked hanging out with all my friends,” Altair said and flipped the pancakes over. They were perfectly golden brown on the bottom except where the skin of the clementines showed through a bit.

 

“Good. You should spend more time with them,” Azrael said.

 

“I see them every freaking day,” Altair groaned. “And they are exhausting. Do you want juice, or water with breakfast?”

 

“Water.” Altair turned away and went to the fridge. He poured water for his gramps and juice for him and got plates and silverware. He put an English muffin on the plate and then some of the turkey bacon and put two poached eggs on each of those. By the time he’d finished that the pancakes were done and he put two of the half sized pancakes on each place with a pat of butter and a little powdered sugar.

 

“A breakfast fit for a king,” Altair said and handed his gramps his plate.

 

“At least it isn’t Waffle House,” Azrael said and bowed his head over the food a moment before eating. “Though very… American.”

 

“I’m American  _ jiddo _ ,” Altair reminded him dryly.

 

“Mm!” Azrael agreed. “Yes, next Sunday we will have Israeli breakfast though. I will cook.” Altair smiled brightly. He loved when his gramps cooked. He didn’t do it all the time because they honestly rarely ate together, Azrael staying out at his restaurants or traveling or Altair wasn’t home. Sunday they usually shared all their meals though. At least, if Azrael wasn’t called away, as he often was.

 

“Promise?” Altair asked.

 

“You have my  _ word _ ,” his gramps said very seriously. “I will have to ask a friend to send me some things from the mainland. One cannot get any good breakfast bread down here,” he nodded sagely at that. “Or cheese.” Altair was still smiling. “Yes, this will be a good thing. I will teach you. Would you like that?”

 

“Yes,” Altair said. “I really would,  _ jiddo _ .” Azrael looked up at him, food in his mouth and sticking slightly to his mustache, and smiled back. Altair already couldn’t wait till next week.


	68. Chapter 68

Altair didn’t even manage to make it to his bed. He’d just stumbled to his front door, struggled with the lock and key for probably twenty minutes, and then passed out on the couch. His flank hurt from the fight he’d gotten into on Friday night and when he finally woke up at noon he felt like death. He’d been _so_ drunk last night. Like more drunk than he’d ever been. He didn’t like getting black out drunk since black out drunk Altair could do and say things that sober Altair would regret in the morning. Mainly he was worried if he got _too_ drunk he’d unintentionally out himself in front of people he didn’t want to out himself to. But last night he’d gotten as close to black out drunk as he’d ever gotten.

He groaned into the couch cushion and rolled over with some difficulty. Cheerful noon sunlight streamed through the big windows and Altair hated them. He hated everything really. He lifted his head somewhat and saw Azrael sitting in the chair across from him. That woke him a bit.

His grandfather was disapproving. “Good morning,” he said.

“Uh… morning?” Altair said.

“You missed breakfast,” he said.

Breakfast?

Breakfast!

Altair turned his head back into the couch cushion. Right. His gramps was going to cook breakfast this morning. He was going to show Altair how to make Israeli breakfast. As if Altair wasn’t depressed enough he’d missed his gramps making breakfast. And missed out on something like a cooking lesson. He sighed heavily into the couch, not moving and wishing he was dead.

Across from him Azrael got up with a grunt. “Moderation, Altair.” Altair lifted his hand up with his thumb up in possibly the most sarcastic posture he could afford at the moment. “And you were out very late last night. I’m not punishing you, but knowing you missed breakfast is punishment enough.” Altair pumped his arm back and forth, thumb still raised. Nailed that right on the head. “I’ll be home for dinner, put the steak I have in the sink into the fridge when it finishes defrosting.” More thumbs up. “If you need me, call me.” As Azrael left he ruffled Altair’s hair and Altair just groaned loudly as if in great pain.

The door opened, closed and a minute or so later Altair heard Azrael drive away.

Meanwhile Altair was doing his best not to cry. He’d been looking forward to today and then drunk Altair had ruined everything. He ended up not crying but it didn’t make him feel any better. Instead he just laid there on the couch in misery, knowing he’d missed breakfast and feeling like shit for it. Eventually he crawled off the couch to the media room. It had no windows and was wonderfully dark. He took off his shoes and pants and crawled onto the comfortable, huge, couch. He turned on his projector and cable box and watched the Food Network for a while.

As he did last night started to seep back in from the back of his mind. He remembered going to that party. Kaczmarek had been the DJ there. He’d only gone because Ezio was going. Malik had wanted to go but he was grounded for fighting those assholes in Marathon. Miles had been there too. Altair had only been vaguely aware of them while he focused on getting as drunk as he could without blacking out. Then he’d started acting mean and like an asshole and they’d kicked him out. Kicked him out, drunk as a skunk, and hadn’t helped him get a cab or nothing.

Well. Miles had.

Altair got a warm fuzzy feeling remembering. Miles had been super nice to him when he was drunk. And genuinely concerned about him too. Miles had called Altair a cab, because he was a nice guy who didn’t just leave people hanging. Not like Ezio who’d found the prettiest girl at the party and after a few rounds of drinks had ended up banging her in the back of his car around the block. Altair didn’t have to see it to know it’d happened because at one point Ezio had been at the party and then he just… hadn’t been. Ezio didn’t just _leave_ parties unless a pretty girl was involved. Not that Altair was much different. So long as he wasn’t one of Altair’s classmates cute guys could lead Altair around by the nose and he’d definitely left a block party with someone a few years older than him to get head around the corner more than once.

Fuzzy feeling was gone. Altair grumbled to himself as he watched Paula Deen make cat-head biscuits. As in, biscuits literally as big as cat heads. They were huge. He hated making biscuits, unless they were Pillsbury.

As he sat there he tried to just think about the end of the party. The part where Miles was. Went quite a ways to making him feel better, especially since he felt like absolute shit. Between the fight on Friday and being told on Saturday he was getting kicked off the team, and now missing breakfast with his gramps, Altair was in a completely terrible mood. Thinking about cute boys helped though. Especially Miles. Miles was literally the cutest boy. He wasn’t ‘hot’ really. Not normally. He’d stopped running over the summer, which Altair had been very upset about, and those were times he was hot. Really he was just a really tall, sort of socially awkward person who liked making people laugh and had a clever brain. But he wore clothes that didn’t really fit him very well and he needed a haircut and looked like he ate junk food all the time. Not exactly what Altair would define as ‘hot’. But he was cute. Definitely cute enough that Altair had jerked off to him at least once.

Well okay _more_ than once.

The fact that Miles had just… showed up and been Altair’s guardian angel last night had just been so nice though. He wished more people were like Miles and were just genuine and good and-

God this was getting out of hand. “You’re stupid,” he told himself. “You haven’t even talked to him.” He rubbed his eyes miserably. Well. He had talked to Miles. Kinda. He’d had to be forced into it and it was all Malik’s fault really.

Malik’s dad was their chemistry teacher’s best friend. Malik had convinced Mr. B to put Altair in the tutoring program and ask Desmond to be a tutor. So Mr. B was officially the second person who knew Altair was gay and Malik had done all of it. Mainly because Altair was _way_ too awkward to just ask himself but Malik could talk to anyone, anywhere, no problem, and be their friend by the end of the conversation. Not Altair. To Altair what Malik had done was an absolute _miracle_.

And he’d also completely blown it the first day of tutoring and been grumpy and pissy and probably Miles thought Altair was a weirdo with anger issues. Well there went the warm fuzzy feelings again. Altair needed to stop doing that. He already felt like shit. He didn’t need to add onto it by having depressing thoughts about his crush. He’d _much_ rather have nice thoughts about his crush. Like them literally doing _anything_ to Altair that wasn’t destructive. Like literally anything. Touching, kissing, _smiling_ at him. He was pretty easy to please. It’d probably never work out either so he just satisfied himself with the fantasy. He could be happy with the one time they’d gotten naked together. Having a second time would be nice too but he doubted that’d happen. Altair did one-night stands for a reason.

He’d probably make an exception for Miles though.

He’d _definitely_ make an exception for Miles actually.

Altair started day dreaming at that and spent a while imagining Miles naked, half watching Paula Deen. Altair had ‘rules’ concerning guys in his life but Miles was the complete exception. He would love if they spent the night. Just one more night. It’d ruin Altair, but he’d be too happy to care. What a mess he was in.

Before it got too late and he was significantly _less_ hung over than earlier he crawled out of the dark media room and went to put the meat in the fridge and drank half a gallon of water. It was four and he was finally awake to have a semi normal day. Useless. Instead he went to take a shower and jerk off before going back to watch more Food Network before Azrael came back home and tried to keep hold of that warm fuzzy feeling so he didn’t feel so shitty about the entire weekend.


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you’re all dying to know what ‘super secret’ conversation Altair and Malik were having at volleyball club but I am here to tell you it wasn’t that important and we won’t be going over it. Whatever they were talking about I guarantee you is not as good as whatever you’ve imagined.

When Altair woke up he felt _great_!

He felt even better when he really woke up and was aware that his fantastic dream hadn’t been a dream. He’d been pretty sure it hadn’t been a dream but he hadn’t been sure. The fact that Miles was in bed next to him was proof enough that he hadn’t dreamed it though.

Altair just laid on his side watching Miles sleep. Maybe kinda creepy but Altair didn’t care. He was in Altair’s bed and Altair was awake what else was he supposed to look at? He was pretty sure the point of sleeping with someone was to enjoy them the entire time they were with you. Or something.

Altair sat up and did his best not to move so much and found his pants in the pocket of his jeans that had been pushed off just to the side of the bed. It was still alive but just barely. Alive enough for Altair to lay back down and open his camera. Now this was definitely probably creepy but damnit Altair needed _something_.

He took a picture of Miles sleeping and got his arm a bit _too_ close to him. Miles grabbed Altair’s arm and snuggled it, making Altair smile. He took a picture of that too because he wanted to. Then he reached behind him and with some wiggling managed to get his phone on the bed stand. That taken care of Altair just laid there and watched Miles sleep. He grinned to himself because of the kid’s huge hickey. Hickey Altair had given to him. If anyone out there was curious if Miles was available hopefully this would broadcast that he probably wasn’t.

Not that Altair would ever work up the balls to actually ask him out. There was _no_ way he could or would do that of his own free will. He’d rather get run over by a truck than have that sort of anxiety riddled nightmare made flesh by asking his crush out. Maybe if he could be obvious enough though Miles would _get it_ that Altair liked him and do it for him. Pipe dream but Altair was all about pipe dreams.

He laid there a while before he had to pee. He tried getting his arm out of Miles’ grip but no dice. He resorted to just poking Miles until he woke up. He made a sleepy noise and squinted at Altair. “Let go,” Altair said. Desmond grumbled a little but did let go. Altair got out of bed and realized he felt _nasty_. Sweaty and sticky and he’d slept in his bed like that. He needed to shower and change his sheets or he wouldn’t be able to deal with it.

“Need to get up, huh?” Desmond asked and rubbed his eyes.

If Altair felt nasty he couldn’t imagine how Miles felt. Altair had wiped most of it up but he still probably had sticky spots all over from cum and lube. “Want a shower?” he asked.

Desmond blinked at him and raised himself up a bit, “I get one this time?”

Altair shrugged. Well he wasn’t about to have a freak out like last time so he wasn’t so worried about Miles getting the fuck out or what he’d do if he told or something. He’d been very deliberate last night when he’d found Miles dancing out at the club. He wanted to save and savor that memory too cause it was so fucking hot. Altair hated being surprised by things but when he premeditated bringing a boy home he was prepared to deal with it. “Gramps isn’t here.”

“Yeah,” Desmond said.

“You can use it after me,” Altair said. Cause he hated being sticky like this. Loved the sex part, hated the next morning if he didn’t shower before bed and he was all sticky and gross.

“Can I just take it with you?” Desmond asked.

Altair’s brain came to a full stop. He was contemplating what sheets he’d put on his bed after Miles left and what he’d have for breakfast. But that could wait. Full stop, Miles wanted to shower with him. To not come across as too desperate or enthusiastic he just shrugged, “If you want.” When Miles looked away and up at the ceiling Altair retreated into his bathroom.

Altair put his hand to his heart briefly, it was pounding. He told himself to just be cool. Miles hadn’t gotten up immediately so he could just pass. Either way Altair still had to take a piss. He turned on the shower to get warm and did his business and stepped into the shower. He tried to just make his mind blank, standing under the water. If his mind was blank he wouldn’t worry about what it meant if Miles waited till he was done _or_ if he joined Altair.

He did end up joining Altair though and Altair’s brain just went through everything that could possibly mean. He wasn’t even sure _he_ wanted Miles in here with him. So he just distracted them by handing Miles the shower head. Altair managed to get his shit in order enough to see that Desmond wasn’t making it weird and was just going about his business of cleaning up. What did Altair do a situation like this? He never showered with another guy before. Did he leave them alone? Was he supposed to help?

To stop from having a panic attack right there about what he _should_ do he just did something and got some shampoo and started to wash Miles’ hair. Miles paused, shower head down, and looked confused a second before getting a look on his face Altair could only describe ‘happy dog’. It was stupid and also cute and Altair was glad he’d done this right. Altair was equally thrilled when Miles started washing _his_ hair for him and was more than a little disappointed when Miles washed his own body and Altair finished quickly.

Well that was over and Altair got out once he was clean. Miles stayed in and Altair didn’t ask after him, he could do whatever he wanted. Altair checked himself in the mirror to see if he needed to shave, he could go another day, and grabbed a towel and left the bathroom.

Altair dried off and dumped the damp towels in the hamper and got dressed. Then he pulled the sheets off his bed and put them in there too. He remade his bed and nearly jumped out of his skin when from the bathroom Desmond practically screamed, “ALTAIR!”

Altair stood there terrified. What the hell? What had just happened? What had he done now? He went to the bathroom door hesitantly and opened it slowly. He ended up just sticking his head through, “Yeah?”

Desmond was standing in front of the sink, towel around his waist, looking out of his mind. “Care to explain what the fuck you did to my neck?” Miles demanded, pointing erratically at the big hickey Altair was actually insanely proud of. Well at least it wasn’t anything important and Altair had freaked out about nothing.

“Never had a hickey?”

“This isn’t a hickey, this is a fucking bruise. How does someone even do this much skin damage?” he whined and self consciously had his hand on the side of his neck.

“You were liking it,” Altair shrugged at him. Well, moving on. “Want me to wash your clothes?” He had to do a load to clean his sheets and clothes from last night before his gramps came home so he wouldn’t be wiser to Altair having a boy over.

“What?” Desmond asked, caught off guard.

“Want me to throw your clothes in the wash?” Altair said like Desmond was a particularly dense child. Miles made some sort of stupid noise and Altair rolled his eyes. “Or you can wear your dirty club clothes, makes no difference to me.”

“Then what the hell will I wear?” Altair couldn’t help but look down. Honestly if Miles just stayed half or mostly naked while he did laundry he _really_ wouldn’t complain. “No,” he growled.

Altair chuckled to himself. “I can give you something. Yes? No?”

Miles pouted and folded his arms over his chest. “Yeah, sure, thanks,” he finally said with a bit of a sigh.

“I’ll lay something out for you to wear,” Altair said with a nod and closed the door. He pursed his lips in thought and went to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of sweats and a big shirt and put them on the bed. Then he gathered up both their clothes on the ground and tossed them into the hamper. He put Miles’ wallet and keys on the other bedside table and plugged his iPhone into a charger he kept around for Malik who used an iPhone and chronically forgot his charger when he stayed over all day. Then he grabbed up the hamper and went to the laundry room in the house and threw everything into the washing machine.

When he was done he checked on Miles who was awkwardly standing outside his room in the sweats and shirt. “So uh… thanks,” he said.

Altair shrugged, surprised by how calm he was honestly, “I figure what’s the point in being weird after one-night stands.”

“Yeah, guess that’s kinda your thing,” Miles said. Altair was sure he didn’t mean it to sound mean, but Altair still felt bad. It wasn’t that he didn’t _want_ a boyfriend, he just had no idea how. Fuck he couldn’t even talk to his crush unless he was forced! How the hell was he supposed to get a boyfriend? On top of the fact that he was super closeted which was stressful in and of itself.

“Something like that,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound dejected. “I’m going to make breakfast, you can have some if you want,” he added. Altair did like feeding people and his heart jumped at the thought of cooking for the guy he liked. God sometimes Altair wondered how he was alive when he felt like this cause right now he was almost too gay to function. “Since you’re going to be here till your clothes are done.”

“Oh… yeah, thanks,” Miles said, a bit flustered.

Altair went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He didn’t eat super big breakfasts all the time. Usually something simple except for Sunday. He went all out Sunday. Bagels with gravlax sounded good. His gramps loved the stuff and made it twice a month, though it never lasted long.

He pulled out the salmon and found some capers in the door. He contemplated the herbs in the crisper. Chives? That seemed a bit too much bullshit for him this morning so he went without. He did grab the block of cream cheese though. Miles was hanging around the kitchen’s entrance, not quite knowing what to do, when Altair closed the fridge door. “You can sit down you know,” Altair said.

“Sorry, sorry,” Miles said. “At the table?” Altair just looked at him like he was an idiot. Miles just decided to sidle away and Altair turned away with a roll of his eyes. “So uh, what are you making?”

“Just a bagel. You eat fish?”

“I eat anything,” he said.

“Good.” Seriously. The amount of people Altair knew who didn’t eat fish in the Keys was _staggering_. He physically couldn’t wrap his head around people who lived in literally one of the most diverse sea ecosystems in the entire world, and didn’t eat fish. He heard Miles pull out a chair at the table as Altair got the bagels.

Altair cut two of them and threw them in the toaster oven before taking the gravlax out of the bag and laying it on the cutting board. He glanced over at Miles who’s eyes got really wide when he pulled a big knife out of the cutting block. Altair smirked a little. People were always impressed with the big knives, especially the really sharp ones that could get the super thin cuts required with fish like this. He cut towards the tail, sheering off thin strips of cured fish and put them on the board next to the fish. He laid each one out till he was satisfied with how much fish he’d cut. Then he packed the fish back up and put it away. As he finished the toaster went off. Altair fished them out with a butter knife and spread cream cheese on them before laying the gravlax on top in a sort of bunched manner. He put a few capers on top of all of them and put them on separate plates before taking them over to the table.

Miles eyes went wide when Altair put the food down. Altair didn’t even notice that he’d just made something out of a food advertisement and ate as he pulled out his phone. He had a text from Ezio and Malik.

‘Lets go out on the boast today! Yusuf and Malik already agreed, so you have no choice, you’re coming.’

Altair rolled his eyes, ‘Then what was the point of asking me?’

Malik’s was appropriately knowing, but not _too_ knowing. ‘Find some fun last night?’ he could almost hear the forlornness in Malik’s voice. Malik couldn’t go out anymore because of Leo. Leo wasn’t super sensitive, but he didn’t like parties and was a serious introvert. Malik used to go with Altair to bars all the time, then he’d started dating Leo and that had just _stopped_.

‘Yes actually’

His phone beeped. Ezio again. ‘Because I like you to feel like you have a choice lols’

‘You’re an idiot. I will be there in a little bit, I’m doing some laundry then I’ll come over.’

‘Sounds good!’

‘Older or younger?’ Malik’s text came in nearly at the same time as Ezio’s.

‘Younger, I think?’

‘You think?’

Altair looked up at Miles under his brows. He was just quietly munching his breakfast contently, looking around but not at Altair. He was in Altair’s class but he wasn’t sure how old he was. As it was Altair was young for their grade and wouldn’t be eighteen till January. He had to assume Miles was seventeen like him, but a few months younger. He had no real idea though. ‘Idk.’

‘Not jail bait?’

‘Ew no. Like few months.’

‘Oh? I know him?’ ‘Altair if you’re not responding its cause I do now you better tell me.’

“That was really good,” Miles said, distracting Altair from Malik. “I’ve never had fish like that.”

Altair shrugged, “My gramps likes it like that, so he always makes it.”

“That’s cool.”

Altair looked back down at his plate, he’d only eaten half his bagel and a few bites of the other half. Miles’ plate was completely clear. He looked at the text from Malik. ‘Crush material.’

‘!?!?!’ ‘Actually him or wishful thinking?’

‘Actual.’

‘(^_^)b’

‘That is the worst emoticon I’ve ever seen’

‘(^u^)b’

Altair stared at his phone. His friend was an absolute fucking moron sometimes. “Bad news?” Miles asked.

“What?” Altair looked up. “No, why would you say that?”

“Because you look like you’re about to break your phone. Maybe you should put it down?”

Altair glared at Miles next and the kid stiffened. “I’m going to go check on the laundry so you can leave. I have plans.”

“Yeah, sure, right,” Miles said and swallowed.

Altair got up and went to the laundry room. He’d only put the wash on a short cycle and it was already done. He threw just Miles’ clothes into the dryer and cranked it up on high. He checked his phone again.

‘So ETA?’ Ezio had texted him.

‘Half hour.’

‘Eggcellent!’

‘Fuck you!’

‘Lols’ ‘Malik said you were in a pissy mood.’

‘Fuck you!’

Altair leaned against the wall moodily. He shouldn’t be in a bad mood. He should be happy if anything. Though Desmond’s clothes wouldn’t take but another ten minutes in there and he could throw the rest of his laundry in there once that was done and go to Ezio’s.

The door of the laundry room opened slowly. “Hey uh… How long is this gonna take?” Miles asked cautiously.

“Like ten more minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. Where did you put my phone? I need to call Clay to come get me,” he continued shyly.

Altair did his best to not just say something rude. Or something that’d probably landhim in mental hell later. “Its charging on my desk.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks Altair,” he said, smiled a little and left. Altair stood there wondering what the actual _fuck_ was the matter with him. He’d just been sort of pissy and then Miles had said his name with a small smile and he felt a thousand times better. Like how did that happen? How did he just now feel completely good and okay because someone smiled at him?

He was out of control.

Altair rubbed his eyes and left the laundry room. Miles was sitting at the table with his phone, keys and wallet on the table, talking. He hung back to not interrupt. “-Pick me up? Don’t sound so fucking happy its creepy as fuck. Yeah.” Miles sighed widely, “Did I say three? Fuck okay three, _gezus_ ,” he groaned. “Fucking weirdo— it isn’t a compliment, Clay. Just come now and don’t speed I’ll be ready by the time you get here. Thanks. Shut the fuck up I will punch you.” Then he hung up. Miles rolled his eyes and went back to tapping at his phone.

“Hey,” Altair called and Miles looked up. “I’m going to get some stuff ready for where I’m going, your stuff should be dry when the dryer buzzes.”

“Okay, thanks,” he said. Altair left him there and went back to his room.

‘Did your body do stupid shit when you first started dating Leo?’ he sent to Malik.

‘Like?’

‘Like unnecessary bouts of happiness?’

‘LMFAO. You fucking loser. But yes.’

‘Fuck’

Altair put his phone on the charger and got a bag out. He put a few towels in there and some sunscreen. He dug his mask out from his closet and put them in there with the rest of the stuff. He’d have to get his big water cooler for going out since he knew his friends were all irresponsible. They’d all bring soda and not water and complain about being thirsty and dehydrated. Idiots.

He finished packing his bag and changed his clothes, putting on his swim trunks and a t-shirt that used to have stuff on it but was so sun bleached it didn’t matter anymore.

When he left his room with his bag the dryer was going off. He caught Miles going into the laundry room and Altair grabbed the big water container to fill from the purifier attached to the sink. Miles didn’t come out to change, he just changed right in the laundry room. “I put the clothes you gave me in the washer,” he said when he came back out.

“Thanks,” Altair said.

“Thanks for washing my clothes,” he said even as he pulled at the collar of his shirt to both pull it out and attempt to hide the huge fucking hickey Altair had given him. There was no hiding it though. It was gigantic and Altair was a little proud. Altair just shrugged. “Clay should be here any minute so uh… I’m just gonna grab my shoes and wait for him outside.”

“If you want,” Altair said and didn’t stop Miles when he did just that. Altair listened for the car and turned off the tap when the container was full enough. A car came and Altair heard it drive off a moment later.

Altair sighed a little. Well that hadn’t gone too badly and he hadn’t freaked out like the first time. So good news was he could function around Desmond. That was good to know. He really wished it wasn’t just a one-night stand thing. Or maybe they should have more of those. Because _fuck_ he really wished he could do things he saw his friends do with their boyfriends and girlfriends. Even if it wasn’t a boyfriend it was more appropriate to be more friendly to someone you actually _knew_ and didn’t just fuck.

He shook his head a little and went back into the laundry room. He tossed the rest of the clothes into the dryer and turned it on. Then he went out back to his dock where his gramps’ boat was. He grabbed his spear gun and flippers from the storage box and went back inside. He scooped up his bag and water jug and texted Ezio ‘omw’ as he locked the door on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are super great guys. But I'd really appreciate comments too. I'm not made of stone.


	70. Chapter 70

Altair didn’t get Christmas. Well he did but he didn’t. His gramps was Muslim, he was raised Muslim. Didn’t practice that much anymore but he knew enough about it to be an expert and had read the Quran front to back like half a dozen times. So the whole huge big deal Christians made about Christmas just didn’t apply to him. Altair and Azrael didn’t celebrate Christmas but his grandpa still liked to get him a gift during the holiday break, mainly so he had something to say when his otherwise Christmas celebrating friends all talked about their presents. Even though that didn’t make a whole lot of sense since half of Altair’s friends were also Muslim and didn’t celebrate Christmas either. He supposed it was the thought that counted though.

For him Christmas was a time to just not do anything. He got to sit home, by himself, all day, and do whatever he wanted, like read, or write, or go swimming. It was fantastic and there was no social obligations and he could _not_ wait. Malik had also been badgering Altair about just _trying_ to hang out with Miles over break instead of being an absolute weenie and only seeing him during tutoring or when he texted him to fuck. He was still sort of stunned he had a booty call and Malik had laughed at him for a good twenty minutes when he’d told him. Not what he’d wanted out of the entire thing, not at all, but he wasn’t really complaining.

Altair was reading on his phone. Some really trashy thing he was embarrassed he even read but he just couldn’t put it down. It was super sappy and romantic and no one knew he read this kinda stuff. Like literally no one. He would _die_ if someone knew. Not the first time he’d read the story either. He’d read it like six times, it was just his favorite. Today had been the last day of school and he planned on binge reading for a few days while he didn’t have school or football practice since spring practice wouldn’t start up again till March. Not that he had to go, but usually the exiting seniors practiced with the JV team to beat them into shape a bit.

An alert popped up on his phone. Though less of an alert and more of just a reminder. He had one set for every Friday because he was stupid and liked to be reminded to think about his weird fucking love life that was more of a sex life than love life. It was just a picture of Miles, sleeping, that he’d taken the week before. Honestly Altair just liked having a new cute picture of Desmond as much as he did having sex with him once a week or so. He rolled over onto his back and pulled up his text messages. He had like five unread, all from his friends, and he was so not interested in looking at them. Instead he selected Miles’ conversation.

'You busy?' He waited a few seconds and when Miles didn’t answer right away he sulked a bit. He was probably busy that was all. Busy or having dinner. Shit. Altair needed to make dinner and he realized it was like seven and he’d had nothing since lunch because he’d been so engrossed in this story he literally couldn’t put down.

Altair took his phone with him, scrolling and going back to his story, while he walked to the kitchen to find some leftovers. His gramps had made meat loaf the other day and there was still some left over. He threw some and some perfectly sized red potatoes into the microwave. He was eating when Miles texted him back.

‘Why?’

Altair texted back immediately, 'I'm bored.' Only kinda lie. Bored, and he honestly just wanted an excuse to see Miles’ cute face and touch his penis. Altair smiled dumbly to himself. He really liked Miles’ penis.

‘How is that my problem?’

‘Come over and alleviate it?’ Honestly Miles could just come over and exist and Altair would be _thrilled_. Probably wouldn’t be too exciting for Miles or make him too happy to just sit there for Altair to stare at, but Altair did not what _did_ make him happy.

‘And just what does that entail?’

Altair rolled his eyes. ‘You know.’

'I can't spend the night.'

Altair frowned at his phone. Couldn’t spend the night? Then what the fuck was the point? He wanted a new picture. Still he supposed beggars couldn’t be choosers and he’d rather see Miles than not. ‘Okay.’ ‘Coming over or not?’

Altair had to wait again. God damnit he hated waiting. At the very least it let him finish his dinner, sulking and not looking at his phone. Why didn’t Miles wanna spend the night? He knew he liked sleeping in Altair’s bed after sex. He did it _all_ the time.

After a few minutes he got a text back. ‘I’ll be there in a few minutes.’

Altair looked down at himself. Well, he needed to not be wearing a ratty pair of pajamas and an Avatar: the Last Airbender t-shirt. Wasn’t a good look. He quickly ate the rest of his dinner and put the dishes away before going to change. He was literally still trying to figure out what was ‘too much’ or ‘just casual enough’ when the doorbell rang. He ended up just throwing on a boring polo and jeans and getting the door. “You got here quick,” Altair said.

Miles winced a bit. So he knew he’d shown up way too quick and eager. Okay at least they were both aware that Miles was the way thirstier one of the two of them. So long as they could independently agree on that Altair was fine. “Uh…” stalling. He took off his backpack and opened it up. “These are for you,” he pulled out a plastic bin and held it out to him.

Altair looked at the bin and took it slowly, turning it to look at what was in it. “You brought me Christmas cookies? You realize I’m a Muslim right?” This was weird. Like Miles knew this was weird right? Not that Altair didn’t appreciate the cookies or anything but it seemed culturally insensitive to give a Muslim Christmas cookies. Not to mention being given a box of cookies out of nowhere was kinda weird. Altair only ate Christmas cookies when he went over to Ezio’s and Maria baked herself into a frenzy. But he didn’t take them _home_ with him.

“They’re from my mom,” Miles said and scratched his neck awkwardly. "I told her I was going to Clay's and she told me to take them with me so... cookies." He sounded guilty about it. For lying to his parents or for giving Altair the cookies and not Kaczmarek Altair had no idea. Probably both.

Well at the very least he could be appreciative. It was the first time Miles had ever given him anything. “Hmm, they don’t look too bad.” They were kinda cute actually and had sprinkles on them and were in Christmassy shapes like reindeer and snowmen and a Santa hat. They had just the absolute minimum of frosting decoration on them too, like Mrs. Miles had wanted to go all out but realized it was a lot of work and Altair was getting a second or third batch where she couldn’t be bothered to put in as much effort as the first batch. He didn’t blame her. Decorating baking was a fucking nightmare. Still it was nice she put the effort in anyway.

“My mom made them, they’re amazing,” Desmond informed him.

“Okay. I’ll eat them later,” he wasn’t super into sweets. No one else was allowed to eat them though. He wanted to eat them cause Miles had given them to him. He nodded for Miles to follow him inside and closed the door.

“I have to be home before midnight,” Miles said as Altair went to put the bin in the fridge so the humidity wouldn’t get to them.

“Okay,” Altair said.

“So… what’d you have in mind?” Miles was positively nervous again. Altair thought they were over this part.

Altair looked him over. Fuck he looked so hot in that leather jacket it was criminal. Leather jacket and jeans was a classic, good, look. Bit of helmet hair but that was unavoidable. Altair would have to pull on it some to make it ‘right’. The more he thought about it the more excited he got. All at once he went from only mild interest about any sort of bedroom activities to _really_ into it. Like Miles around just flipped a switch in him and suddenly he just really wanted to get Miles naked on his bed. “I have some ideas.”

Miles swallowed, nervous and excited too now. “Gonna share?”

Altair went over to him and he saw how Miles got all flustered when he unzipped his jacket very slowly. “I think I can be convinced to explain it to you.” He could see it in his eyes, he was into it, and any nerves Miles had just evaporated. Altair loved that, that yeah Miles was sometimes really awkward and nervous in Altair’s house but as soon as he knew he was getting laid it was like nothing else mattered. And Malik called Altair thirsty. He’d obviously never spent even a nanosecond looking at Miles. The kid made Altair look well hydrated. “You have a good argument?”

“I mean, we both know I have a smart mouth,” Miles said. “I guess I need to remind you?”

“Uh-huh,” Altair said, hoping he didn’t sound too peaked himself. He had an image to maintain after all. “Though the kitchen floor isn’t good for your knees,” he said with a smirk and Miles flushes a bit. He zipped Miles’ jacket up a little bit so he could grab it easier and pull him towards his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these two are gonna be the death of me


	71. Chapter 71

Christmas came, it went, and Altair didn’t even notice. It was sunny out, and warm, and he and Malik were out on his back deck. The others were there too but they were hanging out in the pool. He and Malik were sitting in the lawn chairs, separately reading on their Kindle and phone. Altair wasn’t a big swimmer and Malik wasn’t a bit rough houser outside of football. Which was what the others were doing. Ezio and Yusuf were grappling about while Leo sat on the edge cheering them on. Altair only looked up every now and then from what he was reading at them before just rolling his eyes. Morons.

Once Yusuf and Ezio were done trying to drown each other they settled down to actually relax. “So what are we doing for New Years?” Yusuf asked, hanging onto the side of the pool. He wore his hair back in the ponytail when he swam and he looked weird without his headband.

“We’re doing something for New Years?” Altair asked. He didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Got plans,” Malik said, not even looking up.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Yusuf challenged. What could possibly be more important than hanging out with their friends for New Years?

“Me and Leo are going out.”

“We are?” Leo asked.

Malik looked up from his Kindle at his boyfriend, “Yes. Unless you had to do something?”

“No. That sounds fun,” Leo said, beaming. A rare thing nowadays it seemed. Malik seemed to do less and less that made Leo happy. Altair barely noticed. He just knew because Malik complained to him that Leo sometimes got on his nerves and he seemed to be saying _nothing_ right lately. Which led to very few bright Leo smiles for Malik.

“See, busy,” Malik said, immediately ignoring Yusuf again.

Yusuf blew a raspberry. “How about you Altair?” he asked. Altair just shrugged. “That isn’t an answer. Me and Ezio are going to watch the Conch drop. You coming?”

“Maybe.”

“He’ll come if we drag him,” Ezio said, leaning next to Yusuf. “You know how A is.”

“At least give me the dignity of my full name,” Altair huffed.

“You’re A when you’re annoying. Suck it up,” Ezio gave him a smart ass look and Altair glared. “Come down town with us. You won’t explode. Not like I don’t know you and Malik don’t go clubbing which is like the exact opposite of delicate wall flower.”

“Don’t make it sound like we’re clubbers Ezio,” Altair grimaced. “I only go so Malik doesn’t feel awkward when the drag queens hit on him.” Malik glanced at Altair out of the corner of his eye. They both knew they went clubbing so Altair could get laid and little else. Malik was a good fall guy though. Even if Leo didn’t like when Malik and he went out together. Mainly because he was never invited. Which would defeat the point of Malik being the only one who knew Altair was gay and unlike Malik Leo had a bit of a big mouth when it came to secrets.

“You still go out. So come out.”

“I’ll think about it,” Altair said.

“Uhg. You hear this Malik?” Ezio asked.

“Only because I have no choice right now,” Malik said boredly. His eyes hadn’t moved in the past two minutes or so, just trying to read the same three sentences over and over again while also actively listening.

“He listens to you for some reason than me. Which, fuck you Altair, we’ve been friends longer you should listen to me over Malik.”

Altair and Malik traded a look, “ _Why are white people so stupid Malik_?” he asked in Arabic. Malik just shrugged. Yusuf was just as oblivious. He didn’t speak Arabic, he’d just never learned. _“Thinking they know shit_.”

“ _Maybe if we keep this up they’ll go back to trying to kill each other_ ,” Malik said blandly.

“Hey! Stop that you two. No fair,” Ezio scowled at them both.

“And that’s why I listen to Malik, and not you, Ezio,” Altair said and stuck out his tongue.

“Malik, tell Altair to stop being a spoiled sport,” Ezio insisted.

“I’ll think about it,” Malik had still not looked at any of them really, still trying to read his Kindle. Altair scowled at him.

“Pft, fine. Good enough I guess,” Ezio said. Then he and Yusuf swam away. Altair turned the other direction when Leo came over to Malik, touching his shoulders and chest and leaning down to maybe say something in his ear. He wasn’t a weirdo who watched his friends have moments with their partners. He dutifully went back to reading, ignoring everyone else.

—

Malik had spent the night. He did that when he was wanted to murder his younger brother but didn’t want to get arrested. Kadar was like Malik on steroids of completely fucking terrible human being, except unlike Kadar Malik didn’t try and hide the fact that he was an asshole. Kadar tricked everyone into thinking he was just this sweet little junior high student who never did anything wrong. Including his parents. Malik loved his brother but also wanted to fucking strangle him like three times a week. So he came over to Altair’s when Kadar was too fucking annoying to deal with another second.

Altair was making them breakfast. Malik was sitting at the bar texting Leo. Then at once he sighed and tossed the phone onto the counter. “Now what?” he asked Malik.

“Date’s canceled. Leo’s pissed off at me,” he said and rubbed his eyes.

“What’d you do?”

“Nothing!”

“You sure?”

“I think so? I just asked where he wanted to go and he got mad. Accused me of ‘lying about making plans’ or some fucking bullshit. Uhg,” he made a face.

“You two okay?”

“Fuck if I know at this point,” Malik groused. “Ever since I told him about joining the Marines after school he’s been so fucking pissy with me. About everything.”

“That sucks.”

“I was gonna have a nice date tonight and make up some ground maybe, but nope. Canceled. For fucking nothing. Why do I even bother, bro?”

“Because…? I dunno,” Altair shrugged. “I’m like the worst person to talk about relationships with, Malik.”

“Boy do I know that Mr. One Night Stand, and master of the booty calls.”

Altair flushed, “I don’t-

“Yeah yeah. Save it,” Malik waved it off.

“You can, y’know, rant at me if you want. Better than bottling it up.”

“That’s what you do.”

“Exactly.”

Malik sighed. “Maybe we should just break up?”

“Seriously? You’d break up with Leo? Do you not still like him?”

“I mean, I do,” Malik complained, “but all he does it stress me out now. Oh what am I gonna say that accidentally makes him upset this time? Like I just wanted to know where he wanted to go out and now he’s mad at me. Uhg,” he folded his arms.

“Sorry,” Altair said. “Spending the night again then?”

“I guess,” Malik moped. “We could go out though. Ezio and Yusuf are going.”

“Eh,” Altair shrugged, rinsing some mushrooms for the sauce he was making.

“You should definitely go out.”

“I would really rather not,” Altair said. “I enjoy having to not spend every day with those two. They exhaust me.”

Malik laughed, “Yeah. They can. Why not invite Miles?”

Altair nearly cut himself while chopping the mushrooms. “That is a terrible idea,” he said.

“No,” Malik said. “I think it’d be a good idea. Why haven’t you just asked him out yet?”

“Do I _look_ like a guy who dates to you?”

“I mean just cause you’re fucking easy doesn’t mean-

“I’m not easy!” Altair cried, insulted.

“Its an excuse, bro,” Malik said. “That is exactly what you need for him. I’m tired of you moping about and complaining to me.”

“You like that I complain to you. Makes you feel important,” Altair gave him a look.

“I mean… okay,” Malik agreed at a stretch. “But still. You need an excuse to see him out of the context of random banging. I think it’d be good for you.”

“That is an awful idea,” Altair said again.

“Just fucking do it. My god,” Malik huffed. “Stop being a fucking weenie and pining over this guy. Who you still don’t even talk to outside of tutoring.”

“Tutoring I don’t _need_ ,” Altair reminded him.

“Yeah you do. You need it to talk to him otherwise you’d spontaneously combust from all the bottle gay,” Malik teased him. Altair scowled at him.

“That is still your fault,” Altair said, using his knife to point at Malik.

“I made it happen, yeah, you can thank me later. And you better do something soon.”

“Why?” Altair blinked at him.

“Snow birds are coming for school next semester. Who knows who’s gonna show up and be like ‘oh that Miles kid is hot’ and ask him out _before_ you. Then you’ll really be shit out of luck.”

Altair stared at him. He hadn’t even thought of that. That someone else would just figure out what Altair already knew, that Miles was a nice guy, pretty cute, and totally single and available. “I dunno,” Altair said, looking away.

“I’ll text him if you want,” Malik said.

“I dunno.” Malik just huffed but said nothing. He’d said his piece. He knew not to push anymore or Altair would just totally shut down. Altair went back to making their late breakfast in silence. Malik went back to playing with his phone.

Later, after it had gotten dark and later, and Altair had had time to really think about what the fuck he was gonna do, he came to a conclusion. He and Malik weren’t going downtown, but were watching the ball drop in New York City on the wall screen. Though they both had smaller screens in front of him. Altair tossed his phone over to land on Malik’s stomach with a grunt.

“What?” Malik asked, looking at him.

“You text him,” Altair said.

Malik blinked, not understanding. Then he understood. “If I do you are agreeing to go down to Duval,” Malik said.

“Yeah, sure fine, whatever,” Altair said, trying not to think about it. So long as he didn’t dwell on this shit he wouldn’t freak out.

“Okay,” Malik opened Altair’s messaging app. “He under anything?”

“Uh, you’ll see,” Altair said.

Malik laughed, “That’s kinda adorable,” Malik told him with a smile. “You and your damn emojis.” Then Malik typed something out. “And sent.”

“What’d you say?”

“You busy?”

“Don’t just text that,” Altair smacked his shoulder. “That’s what I ask if he wants to come over.”

“Well, don’t you?”

“We’re you the one who told me to spend real life time with him?”

“I guess you’re right. Meaning I was right,” Malik agreed. He texted something else. “Asked him if he wanted to go watch the Conch drop. That better?”

“Yes,” Altair said.

Then, they waited. At first Altair wasn’t worried, then minutes started to tick by and he started to get more and more anxious. Malik was looking at something on his phone, not keyed into Altair who was regretting letting Malik anywhere near his phone. Why had he let that happen? He shouldn’t have let Malik do that. Desmond probably thought he was weird for asking that. Why would he even wanna spend time with Altair anyway? They had a strictly physical thing going on and no way Desmond would wanna just ‘hang out’ with a jock and his friends. That would have been bizarre for everyone. Not to mention if his friends saw he’d have to explain it and then it could get awkward and-

His phone dinged. Malik picked it up. “What’d he say?” Altair asked.

“He said: I'm in South Dakota till the end of break. Can’t.”

“Oh,” Altair said. He realized he should have remembered that. Desmond had told him that _twice_. He’d never felt so relieved and simultaneously disappointed though.

“Well, too bad.” Malik handed his phone back to Altair. “Try again at something when he comes back.”

“Right,” Altair said, staring at the texts. He felt really let down for some reason. He didn’t know why he’d expected anything. ‘Okay’ he texted back. Then he put his phone to the side and didn’t really focus on anything for a while until midnight rolled around and could focus on the New Year.


	72. Chapter 72

Altair was running a bit late for class. First day from winter break and he was running late. Perfect. He’d made a mess for breakfast and had to rush out of the house after cleaning up. He still ended up being late though. He was walking to his class as one of the last few people in the breeze way. As he was headed to class he noticed, because he really couldn’t help but notice, a girl standing off to the side, staring down at a card in her hand like it was a treasure map. What was odd about this girl was that she was probably the brightest thing Altair had ever seen. Altair wasn’t even a little bi but the _aesthetic_. She was so cute in a dress with lace and buckle shoes and had a pink Hello Kitty backpack. He slowed and came to a stop next to her.

“Excuse me,” he said. She looked at him. “You new?”

She smiled sheepishly. “What was the hint?” He pointed at the card in her hand. “Oh, yeah. I can’t remember where to go. Could you help me?”

“Yeah, sure,” Altair said and went over to her. The card had her schedule printed on it. “You’re in my class,” he said.

“I am? Well isn’t that lucky!”

“Well there’s only one AP Calculus class in the school,” Altair said. “C’mon, we’re late anyway.”

“Thanks for showing me,” she said. “I’m Aveline by the way.”

“Altair,” he said, being friendly but really just wanted to get to class. Calculus was his least favorite and he just wanted to get it over with.

He showed her into the pod area and to the room. They entered and half the class looked at them, the other half ignored them. Their teacher scowled disapprovingly at Altair. Mrs. Lopez loved Altair, he was her straight A student who was never late and while he never raised his hand if she needed someone to come up to the board ‘randomly’ to solve a problem Altair would usually get it right.

“Sorry,” he said, hunching a bit and retreated to his seat. Malik wasn’t in his Calc class. Malik hated math and thought Altair was a lunatic for taking AP Calculus.

Aveline introduced herself to Mrs. Lopez and was told to find a seat. She ended up not sitting next to him, but diagonally from him. Altair just got out his text book and got ready for class. Mrs. Lopez did a short lecture for class and for the last twenty minutes assigned them work out of the book. Altair got right to work on his problems but after just a few minutes he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He looked and Aveline was tapping him with a pencil. What did she want? Why did girls always bother him? Malik always said he was a terrible gay guy for his ‘bad taste’ in men and and ability to just attract the prettiest girls in school. In junior high it’d been Adha before she’d moved away and every other guy in school had been jealous she’d been into him. Freshman year of high school their future Valedictorian Maria Thorpe had had a crush on him as long as the Seven Mile Bridge and then after that it had just been a string of minor crushes from girls both in their grade and above or below. Altair honestly had more girls crush on him than Ezio and he wanted nothing to do with them. He hated to think of it like this but they were so _annoying_. Why couldn’t boys crush on him instead? Yeah sure he wouldn’t have done anything significant but he wasn’t above the flirting like he did with Desmond. Why did girls just gravitate to him? He really wished they wouldn’t.

“What?” he asked in a whisper.

“I don’t have a text book,” she whispered back. Oh. She just wanted to do the work and Altair was the only person in here she knew. Was rough being a new kid in a small town like Key West. She could just ask for a textbook from the teacher but he saw what she was trying to do. She wanted to make a friend. He could do that.

Altair looked behind him, the chair was empty, Richardson wasn’t in today or something. He stealthily moved chairs and Aveline moved her desk closer to his. He put the text book in the middle of their desks and she smiled at him. He just nodded and went back to work. Aveline did her own calculus. They must have looked kinda silly together.

Altair finished his work before the bell rang and just waited around for it, double checking his work. The bell rang. “You finish?” he asked Aveline.

“Mhm,” she said proudly.

“We turn them into Mrs. Lopez,” he said as he moved his desk and got up.

“Oh, its graded?”

“Yeap. Here I’ll take it for you,” he said.

“Thanks,” she handed him the papers after scribbling her name at the top of each one and Altair went to go give them to the teacher. He went back to his desk and grabbed his stuff and Aveline was standing next to it. _Girls_. They needed to stop.

“Could you show me where my next class is?” she asked hopefully.

Altair didn’t know if she was fishing or if she actually just wanted to be his friend. “Yeah, sure,” he said and she handed him her schedule as they left the classroom.

Malik was waiting outside for him. “Finally. I thought I’d have to come in and— who’s this?” Malik demanded.

“This is Aveline,” Altair said awkwardly. “She’s new.”

“Hi,” Malik said and Altair hadn’t seen that look on Malik’s face in a _long_ time. That actually interested in meeting and talking to someone look.

“Hi,” she smiled at him.

“I’m Malik,” he said quickly.

“I’m going to show her to her next class,” Altair said.

“Yeah? What is it?” he asked and Altair showed him the schedule. “English now. Heh, we’re in the same classes, Aveline,” he said.

“Really? That’s funny.”

“Eh, not really. There aren’t that many higher level classes for seniors. We all kinda have the same classes together cause we’re so small.”

“Altair isn’t in it?”

“No. He took it last year.”

“I have the _other_ English class,” Altair said.

“Oh.”

“C’mon, I’ll show you. And the classes are close so Altair and I usually go together.”

“Okay,” she said and followed after Malik. Altair hung back a little so Malik could ask all the questions while he just listened. Aveline was from Washington though was originally from Massachusetts. She lived on the Boca Chica naval base with her parents and brother. The style of clothes she was wearing was called lolita and yes she did wear lolita nearly every day. Then they were at the two English classes.

“I’ll see you next period,” Altair told Malik.

“Mhm,” Malik looked at Aveline’s schedule. “She’s got chorus after English. I’ll see you in Bio.”

“Okay,” Altair said and they separated. Altair went and did his English, not giving a shit about it and practically groaning when the teacher gave an extension on their paper. He just wanted to get it over before they had to study for midterms.

English crawled by before he got up and went to Bio. He and Malik whispered to each other the entire time and Malik said Aveline would meet them for lunch. Altair and Malik had an empty class just before lunch and their respective teachers didn’t really have a lot for them to do. Organize some papers mainly, and they went out to lunch early a lot. For once Malik wanted to actually be at school for lunch and not eat around the corner at the beach for forty five minutes like they did a lot of the time after getting something at Publix or something.

Aveline found them upstairs in one of the pods where they had lunch. No one was up there and it was out of the heat. No classes were going on in the pod at the time so they were free to hang out here the first half of lunch. Ezio and Yusuf literally had a class in one of the rooms here after first lunch though. Ezio’s eyes got all wide when he saw Aveline show up and Altair wondered if Malik and Ezio were going to fight. Not now, but at some point. Ezio liked pretty girls and Aveline was a _very_ pretty girl. But Malik had wanted to come early back to lunch today and the only reason he’d do that was because of Aveline. Malik didn’t just not skip lunch for anyone. He’d only done it a few times when he and Leo had started dating.

“Hi, sorry I’m late,” she said to Altair and Malik. “I was checking on my brother.”

“You have a brother-

“Woah woah, lets not move past the fact that you guys know each other,” Ezio butted in. He got up and went right over to her. “I’m Ezio,” he said charmingly.

“Aveline,” she said.

“That’s a pretty name. Can I call you Ava?”

She got a little patronizing smile in the corner of her mouth and cocked her head slightly to the side. “No, you can’t,” and Ezio looked like he’d just swallowed a spider. “You can call me Aveline.”

“Wow,” Malik said under his breath in a ‘that was amazing did you see that?’ tone.

Aveline walked around Ezio and sat down next to Altair, putting her My Little Kitty backpack right on the table. “My brother’s a sophomore,” she said.

“That’s cool. This is Yusuf and Leo,” Altair introduced them to the other two.

“Hi,” Aveline smiled at them both but Yusuf wasn’t even looking. He had his head on the table, arm wrapped around it, trembling from laughing. Leo waved a little from Malik’s other side who was sitting next to Altair.

Ezio sat at the table looking like he’d just had his soul sucked out and not in a good way. “And that’s Ezio. His ego can’t handle what you just did to him but he’s harmless, promise,” Malik piped in.

“Maybe, but I’m not,” Aveline said.

“Never disrespect a girl with a Hello Kitty backpack,” Leo said wisely.

“No shit!” Yusuf yelled, finally putting his head up. He had tears in his eyes he’d been laughing so hard. Ezio punched him in the arm.

“My brother said he was going to the beach with some new friends of his after school,” Aveline said as she took out a metal lunch box. Of course she had a metal lunch box. And it had some sort of Japanese anime characters on it. Altair didn’t watch anime but he did see Leo perk up with interest.

“Which one?” Malik asked.

She winced, “I don’t remember,” she said apologetically. “I can ask him after school. Do you wanna come?”

“Sure,” Malik said almost _too_ quickly. “Right Altair?” he gave Altair a hard look. A ‘don’t ruin this for me she’s your new friend’ look.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” Altair shrugged.

“Can’t,” Leo apologized, “I have piano.”

“And I have work,” Yusuf said.

They looked at Ezio. “I don’t wanna, okay?” he said, all snotty and annoying.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to,” Aveline said.

“Dude get shit on,” Yusuf said to Ezio and Ezio flicked some of Yusuf’s M&Ms he’d brought to lunch off the table and onto the floor. “Hey fuck you!”

“You’ll get used to them,” he told Aveline and she just giggled a little.

The rest of lunch was mostly uneventful except that Leo moved over to talk to Aveline about her clothes and color pallets which no one else understood, then the bell rang. The rest of the day passed uneventfully and then at the end of the day Altair met back up with Malik and Aveline and her little brother Connor.

Connor was a mousy kid with a terrible haircut, a couple of pimples, and who played with his hands because he was nervous being around guys like Malik and Altair who looked like they took classes in beating up nerds like him. Turned out Connor didn’t remember the beach they were supposed to go to either and it just turned into Malik naming all the beaches until Connor went, “That one! Smathers, Desmond said Smathers.”

It was only when Connor said Desmond that Altair actually checked into the conversation. Miles was gonna be there? Altair hadn’t seen him in weeks. Literally weeks. And then he remembered. “Shit,” he said. “I have tutoring today.”

“You have tutoring?” Aveline asked.

“Its a long story,” Malik said.

“I totally forgot,” Altair said. Then he got excited. He got to see Miles _twice_ today! He didn’t think he’d actually be excited by that. How long did he have? He checked his phone and saw he had two texts. From Miles.

‘Where are you?’ ‘answer your phone dingus’

“We done?” Altair asked. “My tutor is bothering me.”

“Tell him to hold on,” Malik huffed.

‘I know you're eager to see me Desmond. I'll be right there, making an arrangement with a friend.’

“So when are we meeting up?” Malik asked.

“In an hour,” Connor said. “Desmond said he had tutoring too.”

Altair’s phone vibrated in his hand. He glanced down at it, Miles again. 'Well hurry up I can't stay an entire hour today.'

“So Smathers in an hour, do you know how to get there?”

“No,” Aveline said.

“Well how about we go on our way and meet back here sooner? I can show you the way. You have my phone number right?” Malik asked Aveline.

“Alright, that sounds like a plan.”

“I’ll just meet you there after tutoring,” Altair said.

“Okay. Good deal. Text me when you’re leaving your house,” he told Aveline. “I live on stock island so I’ll just meet you in the parking lot. Sound good?”

“Yeap. Sounds great. See you boys,” she waved a little before beckoning Connor a bit. Connor was happy to leave.

Malik sagged as she left. “Fuck,” he said.

“Dude, chill,” Altair said.

“She’s so awesome,” Malik sighed longingly.

“You barely know her.”

“Yeah and? You don’t even talk to yours,” Malik gave him a look.

Altair rolled his eyes. “I’m going to tutoring,” and he left Malik there.

Altair went to the library and found Miles where they usually had tutoring. He’d missed seeing Desmond all the time. He was still super cute and his hair had grown out some over the break and he was wearing a new shirt he must have gotten over Christmas. They did flash cards which Altair did his best to get a lot wrong just to waste his time and hear his voice, god Altair was so gay sometimes it was painful. Then they did problems and then tutoring was over.

He walked to his car cheerfully knowing that he’d be seeing Miles again soon. Obviously he didn’t know that his new friend was siblings with Altair’s new friend and he couldn’t wait to see the look on his face. Desmond always looked so surprised when he saw Altair outside of tutoring or Altair’s house. Altair went back home, changed into his swim trunks and a faded shirt and got a few bottles of water and sunscreen before leaving again.

Malik texted him as he was driving and he looked at it while he was stopped at the red light to get onto Flagler. ‘We’re already there. Skip the school.’

‘Crush there yet?’

‘Nope.’

Altair took the scenic route along the sea wall, driving past the airport and East Martello to Smathers where he parked his car and fed the meter. He found everyone pretty easily and wasn’t surprised that Aveline owned one of those big flopped brimmed sun hats. She and Malik were sitting together while Connor and his friends were off a ways away.

“There he is,” Malik said when Altair came over.

“Yeah, here I am,” Altair said with a grunt and sat down on the sand next to Aveline.

“Its weird being out at a beach in January and its actually warm out,” Aveline said.

“Heh,” Malik chuckled. “You get used to it.”

“I guess you would have to,” she said and Altair just sat there listening to Malik basically flirt. That was what he was doing and Altair tried not to judge too hard. He knew Malik was unhappy with Leo but fuck you could at least break up with the guy _before_ finding a rebound.

He looked over when Kaczmarek suddenly ran up the beach and he saw him meet with Miles. Altair openly stared. He always appreciated seeing Miles shirtless. He’d gained some weight over the break, all the eating he’d probably done but Altair barely noticed and didn’t care anyway. Instead seeing Desmond shirtless just reminded Altair he hadn’t seen him in a while and _fuck_ he was thirsty. Like, Altair was. He had missed Desmond coming over to his house and missed seeing him all laid out on his bed on his clean sheets and then getting to make him breakfast in the morning. He was paler than he’d ever been because he’d been in fucking South Dakota in the winter for nearly a month and Altair wanted to see how his dark hands looked on him. He only looked away and tried to distract himself with Malik and Aveline when he realized he might actually pop a boner just sitting there.

“You okay?” Malik asked him, seeing the look on his face.

“I’m fine,” Altair said, awkward.

“Sure,” Malik said. “ _You sure_?” he asked in Arabic to give them some privacy.

“ _I’m just really gay, that’s all_ ,” Altair said and Malik laughed so hard he fell over.

They hung out at the beach for a while and at one point Lucy came over to try and make friends with Aveline. They got to talking about girl things and then boys and Altair listened with one ear open while he talked to Malik. At some point they decided to go to West Martello and Higgs down the road. Altair did his best not to drool when Miles pulled on his leather jacket without even putting on a shirt, and left first. Allah he was an absolute _mess_.

He got to Higgs first and let himself have a moment to calm down. He kinda couldn’t wait for this little outing to be over because he really needed to go home and jerk off at least once, maybe two or three times. He wasn’t normally like this and tried to remember the last time he had jerked off. It was like ten days ago, which explained why he was thinking wild thoughts. Well wilder. He was a teenage guy but sex things were usually only at the front of his brain like thirty percent of the time. Right now, knowing Miles was around half naked it was like eighty percent.

Altair really needed to chill.

Malik showed up next and Altair got out of his Mercedes and went over to him. “ _So we’re both officially the best worst teenage guys ever_ ,” he told Malik.

“ _How do you figure that_.”

“ _I have not seen you this fucking thirsty in like… a year_ ,” that made Malik snort. _“And I’m a mess_.”

“ _You’re always a mess, Altair.”_

_“I think you’re worse though, you don’t even know her.”_

_“Fuck it, she’s pretty and smart, and did you see her ass? God it is fucking_ amazing _.”_

Altair rolled his eyes and gave Malik a playful little slap on the arm. _“I don’t look at girls’ asses, Malik.”_

_“Well maybe you should. You could start a religion with that ass.”_

That made Altair laugh a little and everyone had shown up by now. Miles took off his jacket and put his shirt back on and Altair was upset about it. They went into the garden and Altair kept on in Arabic. _“So I take it… you’re going to break up with Leo?”_

 _“Once I make sure she isn’t trying to go out with_ you _,”_ he said and poked Altair a bit. _“I hate being your rebound_.”

“ _Not my fault girls find me irresistible.”_

 _“I know. Its awful_ ,” Malik complained. _“But yeah I… I’m going to break up with him before I do anything too serious. I’m not an asshole.”_

_“Really? Could have fooled me.”_

_“Well I’m not a cheater_ ,” Malik huffed and Altair had to give him that. “ _And this would be a perfect time to ask him out.”_

_“That way she knows I’m not available, right?”_

_“_ Uhh… yes,” Malik said. _“But seriously. Just ask him the fuck out. He’d probably say yes.”_

_“Sure he would.”_

_“I’m serious! I mean he was staring at you like the entiiiire time we were at Smathers.”_

_“I guess.”_

_“Don’t be a pussy, fucking ask him out.”_

_“I guess_ ,” Altair grumbled and didn’t respond to more of Malik’s goading. Malik found him boring after that and went to find Aveline to talk to her more.

Altair wandered around a bit and then he saw Desmond off by himself. He went around so he didn’t look like a creeper coming up behind him and caught up with him in a brick tunnel way too short for either of them under the roots of a huge tree. What Malik said jingled in his head. Just ask him out. He’s into you. What’s the worst that could happen? He liked Altair. Just ask him out.

Desmond tried to duck out when he saw Altair and that was upsetting. Before he could think about it Altair grabbed his wrist. “Hey,” why was he running away? Did he think Altair was going to do something to him? Shit man this was awkward and uncomfortable for Altair. He wouldn’t do _anything_ weird.  "You don't have to act like I'm going to do something to you just because we're meeting outside of school.”

Desmond looked at him and when he said, “You aren’t,” it was like a ‘please do’ and he could see it in his eyes. That look he got when they were alone in Altair’s house and playfully flirting going from worried to into it. Did Miles _want_ him to do something? Cause at this point Altair was willing. They were alone and in a secluded part of the garden.

He took a few steps closer to Miles and crowded him against the wall. “I can,” Altair promised. Shit he was horny enough right now to do anything Miles wanted. Miles looked up at him and his eyes were blown out a bit. Well good to know they were both still easy and thirsty as fuck. Miles tried to say something but all he managed to do was look at Altair’s mouth.

Altair could do something about that. Perfect moment honestly. He wanted Altair to kiss him. Story book ending, kiss and then ask him out. He couldn’t have planned it better. He went in for the kiss and then his stomach dropped when Lucy yelled Desmond’s name. Ah shit, they were looking for him. Altair did _not_ want anyone else to know he was gay than he had to. He sure as shit didn’t want someone to find him in this position. Especially not Lucy or Kaczmarek because everyone knew Kaczmarek was the school’s gossip and if Kaczmarek knew then _everyone_ would know.

He dipped and felt shitty about it. He didn’t even say sorry or later or anything. He just left. He made a bee-line for the exit where everyone was waiting. He didn’t look at any of them and heard that they were all going home now. Connor and Aveline had to get home before dinner and there was still homework to do. Before Miles showed back up he told Malik and Aveline he’d see them tomorrow tomorrow. Then he got in his car and left.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what’s awesome?  
> Having crippling anxiety and depression at the same time that makes writing impossible *sarcastic thumbs up*

Ezio had talked him into it. Altair was never going to forgive him for this. Somehow Altair was throwing a party, at _his own_ house. Thankfully his grandpa was gone or he’d have gotten his ass kicked from here to Israel so hard he wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.

All his friends were in his house getting ready. Ezio’s brother was visiting again and had bought booze for the party. His shadowy little boyfriend was around looking at them all disdainfully. Altair still did not understand how such a spirited, vibrant, colorful guy like Frederico was dating a literal black cloud of emo hipster, private art school chic, that was Vieri. It was like black and white but Altair didn’t bother to worry about Ezio’s brother’s love life. He could do what he wanted. Ezio was basically throwing the party except for the part that it was at Altair’s house and he just watched him and the others turn his house into a party house for the day. Furniture was moved and photos were removed from the wall and nearly every door was locked. They’d learned a good lesson from Ezio’s last party. Don’t let people into rooms you didn’t want them in. Shit got fucked up. And of course there was food laid out on the counter and coolers filled with ice and soda and alcohol. Altair didn’t lift a finger to help or stop them. Ezio wanted to throw a party so he could do all the work and you bet your ass he and the others would be showing up the next day to clean it all up too.

Altair’s stomach was kinda in a knot about the entire thing. Miles was coming and the last time they’d been at a party Altair had gotten so drunk he’d nearly blacked out and had to be taken care of by him. The time before that they’d tried to sleep together but suffered a serious case of whisky dick. He didn’t have a good track record with Miles and parties.

Finally after spending all afternoon getting things ready they just waited. It got dark and the first few people started to show up. Then more people and more people and Altair just started to feel anxious about all these people in his house. That was when he started drinking and drinking aggressively. He ended up on the back patio with his friends taking shots and watching games of beer pong while people swam in his pool and laughed and danced to the music coming out of the outdoor speakers. By the time it was later in the night Altair was too drunk to care about things that made him anxious before. Now he just was drunk and drunk Altair was a happy, carefree, person. He danced, he laid out on his deck for a while and cheered on bear pong games. He was very bad at the game both sober and drunk. He didn’t throw in sports for a reason and that was because his aim _sucked_ a huge one. He could catch anything but don’t ask him to throw a football or a baseball.

It was later in the night when Altair stumbled into his bedroom because he’d dropped food on his shirt and Malik had yelled at him to go clean his shit up. So he changed his shirt before finding really interesting on his desk. It was his phone, which he purposefully kept in his room tonight so he didn’t lose it or drop it cause he knew he was going to get _wasted_ tonight. He found his pictures and was looking at them through the haze of alcohol. He smiled to himself when he came upon the series he had of Desmond sleeping soundly in his bed. Sometimes he was snuggling his arm other times he was just passed out. They were all cute as fuck though.

Something moved by his bathroom and he looked up, turning the phone off by instinct so someone couldn’t see it. He blinked a few times not sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. “…What are you doing here?” he asked just to be sure he was actually seeing Desmond coming out of his bathroom and he wasn’t having a drunken hallucination.

“Sorry. I really had to pee and all the other bathrooms were occupied.”

Altair cocked his head at Desmond. “Oh.” Though why didn’t he go outside? Altair _literally_ lived on the water. He could piss of the deck. Instead he’d come in to Altair’s room, knowing where it was and felt comfortable enough to just walk into Altair’s room without him in it.

Desmond tried to walk out. As he walked past Altair reached out and grabbed his hand. Why was he leaving? “Wait,” he said. Why was he always leaving? Altair never wanted him to leave but he didn’t know how to say it. How did he just _say_ that. Maybe he could just make Desmond understand since he was bad with words and just wanted Desmond to stay. Just stay with him. “Wait,” he said again, because that was all he could think of that would make sure Desmond didn’t leave.

No that wouldn’t work. He didn’t know how to say what he wanted to say, how he felt about things. He ended up pushing Desmond against the wall. They were very close and the room was dark. Altair felt at his wits end all the sudden. Desmond looked at him, waiting to see what he’d do, what he’d say next. Altair had no idea. He just hadn’t wanted Desmond to leave. In the dim light of the lights on his bed Altair could see the way Desmond looked at him. He didn’t know what Altair was doing either. Well at least they were both in the same boat of being totally clueless about what the hell was about to happen. He just didn’t want Desmond to leave.

He worked a sentence out in his head and it sounded pretty good but what came out was just, “Stay.” It sounded pretty good too. Short, to the point. The punctuation to it was Altair pressing his lips against Desmond’s. Desmond kissed him back and everything felt better all at once. Maybe he didn’t have to have the right words. He could just make Desmond know his intentions through his actions. He didn’t even care about sex. He just didn’t want Desmond to leave anymore. He could make Desmond figure that out from this right? He was into Altair at least and kissed him back enthusiastically.

At least at first. He felt it fade but Altair did his best to not notice, or convince himself he was drunker than he thought. He was hardly paying attention to anything but focusing all of his limited brain power on making sure Desmond knew that Altair just wanted him to stay.

“Altair. Stop,” the word cut through the haze of booze and he felt himself being pushed back. What was wrong? Why did they have to stop?

“What is it?” he managed to not slur. He did stop though. Not touching, not kissing, but just wanted to keep doing so.

“I don’t want to,” Desmond’s voice was soft and tired and all of the hair the back of Altair’s neck stood on end. “I don’t want to have sex with you. Get off me.”

Altair didn’t know where that had come from. He didn’t care about that. He wouldn’t have minded but he really just wanted Desmond to stay with him. “Now now?” he asked.

“Not anymore. I can’t do this anymore.” Desmond pushed him back some more and Altair took a step back, blinking, trying to figure out what had happened. What had he done wrong? Why was this happening? Nothing was coming out. He literally couldn’t talk. He didn’t know how to _fix_ this. He felt like he’d just been dumped and his heart sort of broke. “I don’t want it like this.” Altair just watched him go in hurt, stunned, silence.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even call out even though a part of his brain that wasn’t drunk was screaming at him. Go after him. Tell him to stay. Do _something_. Anything!

Instead the door closed and Altair was left standing there, staring after the door like the wold had just ended.

He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up and he didn’t know how.

What had he done wrong? What had just happened? It all felt like a dream and he was just sort of floating both in and out of his body but unable to act. Altair blinked a bit trying to get his stupid drunk brain to work through this in a somewhat constructive way so that he didn’t just have a break down right there on the spot.

It wasn’t working.

At the very least he managed to lock his door and grab his phone before falling onto his bed. He just stared at his phone for a while before opening it. He had a text from Malik asking where the fuck he’d gone. Altair didn’t know how to reply. He’d just fucked up. He’d just _really_ fucked up and he didn’t know how or why or what he’d done. His eyes prickled a little. And that was the start of the breakdown. He’d fucked up. He should have just let it go. Should have just let him go. Should have said something else. Said something better. Said and done literally anything than what he’d just done.

He didn’t cry exactly but he did just lay there staring at his wall all night. He could hear music outside for a few more hours before it finally died down. Malik came and found him eventually and he smelled like sex and alcohol. Guess he’d gotten that hook up after all. Malik knew how to open Altair’s door even when it was locked but Altair had no idea how he’d done it while this drunk.

“Hey. Hey,” Malik poked him roughly. Altair didn’t respond. “Ey! You dead?” he moved Altair head and looked into his eyes. He flashed light from his phone just to make sure Altair wasn’t dead. “What’s da matta?” Altair just whined. “The fuck does that mean?” More whining. “Fucking everything,” he grumbled. “Ava— Ava! I’ll be right there. I think he’s broken.”

“Well you gonna fix him?” Altair heard her giggle from outside his room.

“Maybe. Hol’ on,” and Malik flopped down on the bed next to Altair. “Wha’ happened bud?” he asked.

“Desmond doesn’t like me,” he said in a soft, pitifully whiny voice.

“What? Says who? Fuck you he likes you you’re stuuuuuupid for thinking that. Hear me? Stuuuuuupiiiiid,” he jabbed Altair in the head a little.

“I saw him. He turned me down Mal,” Altair continued to whine.

“So? We’re fucking drunk!”

“Drunk!” Aveline called from the hallway and then broke into a giggling fit.

“Yeah but-

“But yur stupid,” Malik said and smashed his head into the bed a little. “Drunk people don’t know what they’re doing.”

“You do,” Aveline called.

“Yeap!” Malik yelled proudly.

“Uuuuuhg,” Altair groaned.

“Ey, ey,” Malik laid down next to him again, looking at him. “He’s drunk. You’re drunk. We’re all drunk.”

“Drunk!” Aveline chorused.

“He probably don’t know what he’s doing. He’s into ya. You know he is,” he poked Altair on the side a little, tickling him. Altair squirmed away from him. “Drunk Altair ain’t sober Altair and drunk Desmond ain’t sober Desmond-

“Malik,” he pouted at him.

“Ave!”

“Yeah?”

“You hear me?”

“We’re all drunk!” she called back happily and Altair heard her slide down along the wall in the hallway just giggling her head off.

“She doesn’t care,” Malik giggled. “Don’t let it get you down. We all say stupid shit when we’re drunk. He’s just being stupid and you’re stupid for believing him. You shoulda seen him out on the deck. Him and Connor are soooooo good at beer pong,” Malik said all wide eyed and amazed. “They drank a _loooot_. Like a loooooooo-t, Altair. Don’t be sad,” Malik nuzzled him and Altair knew he’d only do this and was only this affectionate because he was drunk as shit and had just gotten laid. Altair whined. “He likessss youuuu,” Malik encouraged him.

“What are you doing in here?” Aveline asked and Altair peered around to look at her. She walked into the room and only swayed a little.

“Boy things,” Malik said.

“Ew,” Aveline said.

“Go away Ava,” Malik waved at her.

“Rude! Rude rude rude,” she hit Malik a bit, drunkenly making some contact with his arm and side. “Is Altair sad?” she asked. Altair said nothing and Malik just nodded. “No! Unacceptable! Altair is not allowed to be sad when we’re all drunk!” she fell on top of him to hug him tightly. “Don’t be sad Altair,” she said smiling, cheek pressed against his shoulder.

“Uhg,” Altair wanted them to leave so he could wallow some more. Malik was just grinning ear to ear.

“Why’s he sad Malmal?” Aveline asked him.

Altair didn’t realize Malik would shoot his big, drunk, mouth off when he said. “The boy he likes turned him down tonight.”

“What!?” Aveline looked at him. “They turned you down? They’re stupid. That’s stupid. You’re so nice and smart and wonderful and nice and- and nice and cool and awesome. Why would anyone do that?”

“Cause he was drunk,” Malik said.

“Drunk boys are stupidddd,” she said very matter of factly. “Especially this one,” she poked Malik on the cheek. “He’s super stupid.”

“Yeap,” Malik agreed loudly. “But you like me anyway,” Malik grinned at her.

“Yes,” she leaned over and kissed him and Altair looked away.

“Grosssssssss,” he groaned. He kicked at Malik when they didn’t stop. “No heteros making out in my bed!” he yelled.

“I’m not hetero,” Malik snapped at him. “I am not straight fuck you,” he pointed at Altair sharply.

“Well no whatever you are. Gays only,” Altair said.

“Like the opposite of no homo,” Aveline said rather thoughtfully. “Yes homo,” and then she just started laughing at her own joke. Her laugh was more than a little infectious and Altair found himself laughing as well and then Malik was laughing and soon he wasn’t sure what they were laughing about. All he knew was that he was happy now. He’d been sad before but now he wasn’t. “Yes homo,” Aveline giggled as the laughing died down.

“Better?” Malik asked Altair. Altair nodded a little. “Good,” he sat up. “Ava, lets go.”

“Go where? Malmal I’m tired I don’t wanna go anywhere,” she complained even as Malik rolled off Altair bed and crashed onto the floor with a thud.

“We’re going to my place. Kadar is still waiting outside. C’moooon he’s probably so grumpy we’re still here.”

“But Altair’s bed is so comfy.”

“Yeah it is. So is mine. C’mon,” he dragged her off his bed. “We can fuck again at my house too.”

“Gross!” Altair yelled.

“Shut up gaylord,” Malik said.

“Get your straight ass out of my room!” Altair yelled.

“Not straight, asshole!”

“Get,” Altair kicked him a bit more.

“Promise you won’t be sad?”

“Sad about what?” Altair asked. He’d effectively forgotten most of what had upset him.

“Good. Good. Okay Ava- Aaaavaaa,” he dragged her to her feet. “Nighty night Altair. Say goodnight Ava.”

“Night night,” she waved drunkenly at him.

“Everyone’s out by the way,” Malik said. “We kicked them allllll out.”

“Good,” Altair grumbled.

Then Malik and Aveline half walked half stumbled out of Altair’s room and down the hall, giggling and colliding with each other. Altair heard the door open and then close. A moment later a car drove away. Altair should have gotten up and closed the door but he didn’t feel like it and just took off most of his clothes and crawled under his covers and passed right out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sad writing the first half of this chapter and then just starting laughing the second half. Wow.


	74. Chapter 74

Altair dreaded tutoring on Monday. He considered skipping but Malik had found him on his way to his car, skipping out of the last few minutes of class and grabbed his arm. “Where are you going? Don’t you have tutoring?” Malik rose a brow at him.

“I’m not going,” Altair said.

“Why not?”

“What the hells the point? He doesn’t wanna see me,” Altair sulked.

Malik smacked his shoulder, “You’re a hundred percent stupid, you know that?” Malik asked him sternly. “Turn your ass around and go see him. He doesn’t hate you.”

“I don’t… want to see him either,” Altair admitted.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t _know_ ,” Altair groaned. “You didn’t hear him at the party. He very clearly told me off and to leave him alone. So I am-

“Didn’t we agree people say shit they don’t mean when they’re drunk? Get your ass to your god damn tutoring session,” and Malik grabbed him and started dragging him back. “I haven’t listened to you pine and moon over him for months and set up a time you’re forced to hang out with him a few hours a week for you to just not try.”

“Ahg! Malik let go.” They ended up grappling a little, Altair trying to get away and Malik to keep ahold of him. They stopped only when the bell blared and Malik took Altair’s distraction as an opportunity to put his hand in Altair’s pocket and grab his car keys. “Hey! Malik!” he yelled, he lunged for them.

“Go to tutoring, you’ll get them back,” Malik said and then did something super gross. He put Altair’s entire key chain in his mouth.

“What is wrong with you?” Altair asked. Malik just shrugged. “What the fuck bro? Uhg, fine.”

“Awesome,” Malik spit the keys out. “Want ‘em back?”

“Uhg, no. Wash them off first you fucking weirdo.”

Malik chuckled, “Good. Go see your cutie patootie,” he pinched Altair’s cheek playfully and Altair hated him. “I’ll wait for you to be done.”

“Alone?”

“Pft, yeah right,” Malik rolled his eyes. “I’m meeting up with Ava-

“Fucking gross,” Altair said and Malik laughed. “You’re really fucking gross.”

“You’re the one thinking about what me and Aveline are going to be doing while we wait for you. Now go on,” he gave Altair an encouraging push and grumbling Altair went to the library. Now he was upset, and mad. Mad mostly because of Malik. Asshole.

He sat and waited grumpily for Miles to show up. He didn’t have to wait long and then Desmond was there. He said hi and Altair was just non communicative. He knew what Desmond had said and no matter what Malik said to make him feel better he knew Miles was done with him. He did the work Miles gave him without commenting and just wished the paper would burst into flames a little.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked. Altair’s grip tightened a little. How could he _ask_ that when he’d stomped all over Altair’s heart two days ago?

“What’s it to you?” it came out more aggressive than he expected and Miles’ reaction was enough to know it was mean.

“Well you look like you’re about to rip my throat out,” Desmond said slowly, “Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t personal.”

Wasn’t personal. Yeah. Sure. Still, that seemed extreme and maybe Altair was being a bit _too_ moody. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Malik could be right sometimes. Maybe Desmond _didn’t_ hate him. Not to mention why would he use that as an example? What was the matter with him because seriously. “I’m not going… rip your throat out, really that’s what you came up with?”

“What would you prefer murder me in my sleep? Because I could have gone with that one too,” Desmond said, cocking his head a little.

Altair scrunched his face up a little bit. If Desmond actually didn’t like him he wouldn’t have come, or have been so relaxed right now. It was supposed to be pretty awkward around people you’d just told you didn’t like right? He didn’t hate Miles after all. He still really really liked him and the entire thing just hurt. Altair didn’t want Miles to think he hated him, that would just make it more awkward. “It’s not… nothing,” he half sighed and folded his arms. He remembered what Malik had said, that people made stupid decisions when drunk. Well, he was about to make one while sober. “Enjoy the party last week?”

Desmond blinked, “What I remember of it,” he said sheepishly with a little grin.

“What you remember?” Altair asked. He did his best not to hope but he couldn’t help it.

“I got _wasted_ ,” Desmond said, “I remember like… half of it. You had a lot of booze.”

Altair perked up a little. He only remembered half of it? Maybe he didn’t remember what had happened? He leaned against the table now, halving the distance between them. If he didn’t remember then he wouldn’t remember telling Altair what he had and Altair could fix this! “You have fun, though? Ezio told me you were out on the deck with them for a while.”

“Uh… yeah, I was,” Desmond said, “after that though I got like… nothing,” he waved his hand in front of his face. “Remind me never to go to your parties again. I get black out drunk and that isn’t as fun as it sounds.”

“Huh,” Altair said. Black out drunk meant he didn’t remember and the beer pong fun had happened before they’d seen each other in Altair’s room. That meant Altair still had a chance! That was wonderful. He frowned when Miles’ phone started to vibrate and he turned away from Altair to answer it.

“Hello?” he asked softly into the receiver. Altair tried not to pout. He didn’t want Miles to ignore him _now_. “Yeah, that’s me.” Miles glanced back at Altair and saw he wasn’t working and tapped the book. Altair looked down at it like he gave a shit. Instead, he was listening and trying to make out the voice on the other end of the phone. “Yeah, it’s almost over, though.” Desmond looked at him and Altair looked down. It was one of his friends. “Why, what’s up?”

Altair didn’t know who was on the other end of the phone but Altair hated them. Whoever they were was making Desmond smile and that grated on Altair for some reason. Miles hardly ever smiled like that at him. He was at once jealous and angry. “Sure, I’d love to come over.” Come over? Go over where? Altair couldn’t hear the other voice and it was driving him crazy. “Your dad isn’t home though right? I don’t think he likes me right now.” Altair tried to think if he knew enough about Desmond’s friends to make an educated guess about who it might be but he didn’t know enough about his friends. “So there’d be no one home?” 

Altair had been pretending to do his work but that didn’t sound good. His fingers hurt from gripping his mechanical pencil so hard and he pushed down so hard the lead snapped. Altair bent down to dig around in his backpack even though his pencil still had lead in it. He used it as an excuse to keep listening.

“Man Connor I didn’t even know you knew how to break the rules.”

Connor! That’s who this was about!? Altair had met the kid only once at the beach but he knew he was Aveline’s little half brother. He didn’t know much about him. Altair hated him now. He was just Desmond’s friend, right? He sure hoped so. He guessed Malik and Aveline were going to be together the rest of the day, he’d beg Malik to find out if they were just friends. He sat back up to keep pretending to work but had missed a bit of the conversation and heard the end. “I’m almost done here so I’ll be there in like half an hour. Cool?”

Miles hung up and Altair did his best to not look totally dejected. “So do you need to go?” and he knew he sounded upset despite trying to hide it because Miles looked like it. “Also I thought we did this together?”

Desmond smiled a bit patronizingly at him, “I can do the last few by myself,” he looked at what Altair had managed to do, “And you’re almost done.” Altair didn’t look amused. He hadn’t done a single problem during that conversation. Miles wasn’t even paying attention. Altair scowled. “Man, what the hell crawled up your ass and died?” he asked.

Oh, I don’t know the fact that my crush is going to spend time alone and watch movies with another guy at their house, Altair thought privately. Instead he scoffed, “Nothing— just… It's nothing. Just a bad day,” he ended in nearly a whisper and attempted to actually do his homework.

“If you say so,” Miles said.

A few minutes later Altair finished. “Done.”

“Good,” Desmond said and put his things up.

Altair shoved his things in his bags and got up first. He didn’t want them to leave it like this. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. He wanted to try and keep Desmond away from Connor but he had no idea what he could say without also having a lot of things he was too nervous to say. In the end, he said nothing and just walked away.

He found Malik’s car but before approaching he texted him. Malik got out and met him a parking lane away. “Please tell me the lipstick is only on your face,” Altair grimaced.

“I mean… I’m not gonna lie to you,” Malik said with a grin that had Altair slapping his hand across his eyes. “So, how’d it go?”

“Fine, I guess. He apparently was black out drunk when I saw him, and doesn’t remember seeing me.”

“Awesome! You have a chance then.”

“I think so-

“But?”

“Will you ask Ava if he brother likes anyone?”

“Why?” Altair told him about the phone call Desmond had had. “Huh, oh wow. Yeah, that seems like it could be something. I’ll ask her.”

“Thanks. Now, keys,” Altair held his hand out and Malik put them on his palm. “Don’t ever put my keys in your mouth again. I don’t want girl germs on them.”

Malik snorted, “Yeah alright. Later,” and Malik left him. Altair went to his own car and sighed when he got in, looking at the roof. He eventually started the car and drove home.

Later that night Malik sent him one text as Altair was doing his math homework. ‘Looks bad,’ and that was it. Altair stared at the text for a bit before reaching up and grabbing his hair in frustration.

—

Altair did his best not to think about it, or what Malik had said. At school, he’d asked Malik if he was _sure_ and Malik had said he was pretty sure. Aveline seemed pretty convinced at least and if nothing else Altair trusted Aveline to know her brother. He worried about it a little but knew if he wanted to make sure he didn’t lose his chance he’d have to actually do something about it. A terrifying prospect to an introvert like him who dreaded having the confrontation where he had to say anything.

He was given a blessing a few days later. He saw it in chemistry. Miles as sitting with Catarina wearing a very nice red button up shirt. The fact that he was wearing red keyed Altair into the fact that it was strange. He’d seen all of Miles’ usual shirts. He didn’t own anything red. As he sat down he got pretty close to him and could see it really. Oh. This was a gift. Desmond looked mortified by whatever look Altair had on his face and refused to keep looking at him.

Then at tutoring Altair just bided his time. He couldn’t help but keep glancing up at him, just to assure himself he was right. That shirt was way too nice to be anything Desmond owned. In fact Altair recognized it and now he knew why he couldn’t find it in his closet anymore.

“You got a problem?” Desmond asked him, his voice sounded strained.

“Nothing,” Altair said, he was looking down but smiling. He looked up slowly after a few seconds. “You’re just… wearing my shirt.” And Allah he looked _so_ good in it. Altair liked seeing Miles in his clothes outside of his house. He didn’t realize he did till just then either. What a weird kink to have. It got better when Desmond’s cheeks started to burn and Altair smiled a bit more. His face went full red.

Desmond folded his arms, “Not on purpose,” he said sounding stubborn.

“Looks good on you,” Altair said. He wasn’t lying. Desmond looked good in red. He looked better in Altair’s shirt but that was beside the point.

“Kinda big,” Desmond said like he didn’t care. Altair admitted it was a bit big. Altair’s shoulders were bigger and had a longer torso. Desmond was all legs and arms. “How the hell did you even know? It looks like a normal fucking shirt.”

“Too big on you, and you don’t wear red.”

Desmond scowled at him. “What, you notice what I wear?”

“I notice what cute guys wear yeah,” Altair did his best flirting tone. It was better when Desmond seemed honestly surprised. Altair supposed he would. Altair had never actually come out and said he found Desmond attractive or cute. “I mean, don’t you?”

“Sometimes,” Desmond muttered. “I didn’t peg you as a guy who cared what someone else wore.”

This was going to good. Altair just kept going. Malik always said he was a weirdo who didn’t work like people should. Altair was an excellent flirt but just talking normally to people and he got all self-conscious and awkward. It was because Altair treated flirting like a game and conversation like a forced chore. Altair loved playing games and the good ending for good flirting usually ended up in someone touching his dick. Whereas just conversation just left him feeling tired and bored.

“Fair enough. I’m usually more interested in taking those clothes off anyway,” Altair said. “I ever going to get my shirt back or are you just going to keep it?”

“You can have it back— not right now, though,” Desmond added quickly. “I think the librarian wouldn’t appreciate me stripping in her library.”

Altair’s lips curled a little. He would have liked it. He hadn’t even considered it until Desmond had said it either, meaning he’d actually contemplated it for half a second. If Connor liked Desmond he had no idea if Desmond liked Connor. Even if he did it wasn’t enough to stop him from entertaining the thought of stripping in front of Altair.

“You should come over. I could give you your shirt back,” Altair said. He had no idea what it looked like but he figured he’d know it when he saw it.

“My shirt- oh, right.” It hadn’t even entered Miles’ mind that Altair even had his shirt. Or maybe he was distracted by Altair. He looked very distracted. Uh… okay,” he nearly stammered there. “How come I didn’t know you had a pool till the party?” he suddenly asked.

“… What?” The question came out of nowhere. It threw him off balance. What sort of question was that?

“I’ve been over your house like a dozen times. I didn’t even know you had a back deck.”

“I have a boat and dock too,” Altair said.

“You do- how have I been there twelve times and never seen it?”

“I don’t know. You ever look outside?” Altair asked in the most sarcastic voice he could manage. Not like there aren’t windows everywhere. Too distracted by me?” He tried to get them back into flirting and not on stupid questions about his house.

“Yeah, totally you and not your giant mansion house,” Desmond said, rolling his eyes.

“So is that a yes?” Altair asked.

Altair watched as Desmond took a long time to figure it out. Altair just waited as Desmond mulled it over. Finally, he said, “Yeah, I want my shirt back.” That made Altair seriously happy and he smiled.

“Okay, do we want to finish this or just go get it now?”

“Uh, are you done?”

With you? Not even a little, Altair couldn’t help but think. He looked at his homework. “Yeah,” he lied. Or he was mostly done.

“Okay, then I guess… I’ll meet you there,” Desmond said awkwardly.

“Alright,” Altair said and put his things away. He gave Desmond one last flirty look before leaving. He looked back to see Desmond staring where he’d just been sitting like he had no idea what the hell had just happened. Altair chuckled to himself as he walked out. Desmond was so cute. Sort of stupid, but so cute.

—

There was no pressure for Altair to find Desmond’s shirt quickly. Miles was just sitting on his bed, waiting while Altair went through the clothes in his dresser. He knew it was a t-shirt because he wasn’t even sure if Miles _owned_ an actual button down shirt and Altair didn’t own a lot of t-shirts beyond solid colored ones. He was pretty sure he’d worn it once since it had come into his home. But didn’t have a good idea of what it looked like.

Then he found it. He knew he had because it had Captain America’s shield on it. Not something Altair would _ever_ wear. “Ah, found it.”

“Finally,” Desmond grumbled.

“I have a lot of clothes,” Altair said with a shrug and gave it back to him. To be fair Altair did have a lot of clothes. Most of them he didn’t wear. He just liked having them.

Desmond took it and turned away. He unbuttoned Altair’s shirt to change. Well, that was disappointing. He changed quickly. “The hell… you stretched it out,” he accused Altair, pulling on the neck a little.

Altair shrugged, “I only wore it once. It was too tight.” He looked good in it too. The loose collar gave Altair enough room to see his long neck and throat. He took a step closer to see better. Or that was his excuse to himself anyway.

“Yeah and now it's too loose uuuhg,” he looked down at his shirt, “I liked this shirt too,” he muttered to himself.

“Well then just take it off if you’re upset about it,” Altair said.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

Desmond looked up and started seeing Altair so close to him. For a second he looked worried and then his eyes dilated. Was this okay? He wasn’t going to do anything unless Desmond wanted him to really. “I wouldn’t be adverse to it,” and he touched the hem of Desmond’s shirt. “Wouldn’t be the first time I convinced you to stay either,” he smirked a little. Desmond looked beside himself. Malik was totally right. And this was different than the party.

“Yeah well-“ Altair brushed his lips against Desmond’s mouth and he shut right up. He didn’t want Desmond to talk. Altair didn’t want him to think about leaving. He just wanted to give Desmond the invitation.

Desmond took it and ran with it. He got that look on his face Altair knew from the times they’d slept together. He leaned over to Altair a little and Altair put his arm around his waist, up under his shirt and his heart skipped happily.

Miles sighed and closed his eyes in reassignment when his phone just started ringing. He pulled away and Altair was glad he turned away because he knew his face was reflecting how he felt. He felt cheated, annoyed and like he wanted to grab Miles’ phone and throw it onto his bed. Let the damn thing ring he’d been _so_ close.

“Hello?” Miles sounded as annoyed at Altair felt. Well good. Fuck whoever was on the other end. “Yeah. Con what is it?” Altair steamed. _This guy_ again?! Altair wanted to throw him out in the Gulf. He liked Aveline just fine but her little brother was starting to grate on Altair. Mostly because he now saw Connor as competition. And it wasn’t fake either. Desmond had cut them off to answer Connor’s call.

His general dislike turned into absolute hatred when Miles sighed a little and played with his hair absent mindedly and said, Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to come over for dinner. Yeah, I’m fine I just… nothing. It's fine, sorry for snapping. Okay. I’ll be there in a little bit.” It took more strength than Altair thought he had in his body to not snatch the phone and throw it.

He hated feeling like this! In an instant, Connor had done what Altair was always too nervous to do. Just ask Miles to come over and have dinner. Altair honestly wasn’t a super violent person but right now he was.

“Fantastic,” Miles said, sounding unhappy. Please be bad news. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Altair crossed his arms and turned half away from him. “Right,” he growled. He didn’t have a chance now. It had been going so well too! He didn’t know what would have happened but it could have been good! Altair had kept what Desmond had said in mind during the party. He didn’t want it like they’d been doing. Altair felt more comfortable at his house, he could have asked Desmond to stay for dinner. He could have figured out how to get there. Now who the fuck cared cause Connor had snatched the opportunity right from him. He hated this kid. He _hated_ this kid. He couldn’t even be gentle when he bit out a “You know where the door is.” Because fuck Desmond too at this point, honestly. He’d just blown Altair off for some sophomore snow bird. It hurt his pride as well as his feelings.

“I’ll… see you tomorrow,” and Altair didn’t even watch him leave. He was just so mad.

Altair sat on his bed, still angry, and took out his phone. Malik had sent him a few messages. ‘Prey for me. Meeting Mrs. Kenway tonight x_x’ ‘and dinner or something?’ ‘What the fuck do I wear to meeting your girlfriend’s mom?’ ‘do I wear a suit?’ ‘what the fuuuuuuck????’

‘Wear a button shirt and a nice pair of jeans, idiot,’ Altair texted back. Then he thought of something. ‘Desmond is going to be there too. Connor invited them. Run interference.’

‘Fuck you I’ve got my own problems, buddy.’

‘I was making progress!’

‘So am I!’

‘Do this for me Malik.’

‘I’ll do what I can.’

‘Thanks’

‘Don’t’


	75. Chapter 75

The last few days had been the worst days Altair could remember in a while. It was just bad news after bad news. Which sucked because Monday had been so _good_! Even if Desmond had left at least it was better than he’d expected which after the party had been distance and dislike.

Tuesday he’d been told by Malik who’d been told by Aveline, that Connor had a huge crush on Desmond. _His_ Desmond. It had him made him so irritated and mad he’d screamed into a pillow for about two minutes straight. Mostly he was mad at himself for being a huge wuss. But he also hated Connor. Didn’t know anything about the kid but Altair _hated_ him. Apparently dinner had gone great for both Kenway kids and that meant it was good for Malik and terrible for Altair. Turned out Desmond might like Connor too and Altair hadn’t wanted to hear that news one bit.

Wednesday Desmond had _canceled_ their tutoring for some mysterious club he was a part of. Which was bullshit. Altair had missed football practice to come to tutoring, the least Desmond could do was miss his club day. The most aggravating part was that Malik told him both Aveline and Connor were part of Desmond’s club. So it was a personal, secret, club. Altair hated secrets (which he realized was a bit hypocritical since he kept a huge one) and felt it was like lying. So he’d done his homework alone and bitched about the secret club thing with Malik. Neither of them liked this secret club but for different reasons. Malik was just a nosy asshole who wanted to know what his girlfriend was doing and why it involved a bunch of juniors. Altair just hated that Connor was spending yet _more_ time with Desmond.

Thursday started out okay and been great when he’d gotten Desmond to come home with him. He’d almost said something. He really really had been because he didn’t want to fuck it up again. He’d been fucking up the whole asking Desmond out thing for weeks and he’d actually wanted to. It had been a good time until _Connor_ had called. Or he assumed it was. Connor was the only one who could make Desmond get up and leave immediately. None of his other friends could do that. Then he’d left and Rashid had given Altair a look at dinner but Altair had honestly been too frustrated and mad at himself for being a coward to notice.

It had gotten even ‘better’ when that night Malik had told him Aveline was beside herself because she was happy for Connor. At first Altair hadn’t wanted to even read the messages until he’d seen the very damning, very upsetting, ‘apparently Connor’s gonna ask Desmond out this weekend’. It was closely followed by, ‘you gonna nut up about this or what?’. Altair hadn’t answered and just laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He absolutely couldn’t let that happen. What the fuck could he do though? The answer was immediate and made his stomach roll uncomfortably because it went against his entire deal about being in the closet and fear of rejection. Just ask him out _first_.

Altair slept badly that night and kept waking up every two or three hours. He felt like he’d been dreaming but the content was lost to him except that it’d woken him. Meaning they probably weren’t good dreams.

Eventually he just woke up at five and went out to the kitchen tiredly to make a latte and start breakfast. His stomach moved in several directions as he made breakfast. A big breakfast because it meant he couldn’t think about what might or might not happen today and what would _definitely_ happen tomorrow if he didn’t.

Rashid came out of his room at the time Altair usually woke up at sixish and saw him in the kitchen still. He’d drunken four shots of espresso worth of lattes by then and was just meticulously making breakfast pastries with some canned puff pastry. Rashid stood at the edge of the kitchen until Altair noticed him.

“Everything alright, _ibn_?” Rashid asked.

“Bad dreams,” Altair droned, looking away from his grandpa, back to his blackberry and orange turnovers. He didn’t even _like_ baking. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Rashid walked into the kitchen and started two pots of coffee. “Dreams about what?” he asked, breaking Altair’s focus a little. Not that it was high concentration stuff he was doing but still sort of annoying.

“I don’t remember. I also made quiche,” he said.

“Is something big happening at school today?” Rashid asked as the coffee machine started to rumble as it boiled the water.

“No,” Altair said. “I’m just stupid.”

He looked up when Rashid laid a hand on his arm. “You’re not,” he said. “Is it about your decision for what you’re going to do after school? I know it gave me nightmares too.”

Altair blinked at Rashid. “No,” Altair said. “It isn’t.”

“Alright. Can I help you with anything? What are you working on here?” he motioned to the full tray of palm-sized puff pastries filled with the blackberry and orange mixture.

“No. I’m fine,” Altair said. Then he realized that sounded sort of mean. “I’m almost done. No need to get all dirty.”

“Alright,” Rashid said with a slight frown. He went and got a cup of coffee, he drank it three quarters decaf with a little bit of regular and about a finger of milk. Altair just glanced at him before finishing the last two pastries while Rashid started to load up the washing machine.

The oven started to beep and Altair pulled the glass dish out of the oven and set the quiche out to cool. Then he put three into the oven to start cooking next. The rest he put as the entire tray into the freezer. He helped Rashid finish cleaning up his mess. By the time they were done the quiche was cool enough to eat. Altair set the table as the sun was coming up.

Rashid was honestly surprised when Altair joined him for morning prayer. He said nothing of it but Altair could feel his eyes. Altair didn’t usually pray five times a day. Usually only once or twice if he remembered or was convenient for him and barely ever sunrise prayer.

Altair didn’t know what he prayed for. In the end, he prayed he wouldn’t be such a fucking idiot and let what was going to happen, happen.

They shared breakfast and then the oven said the puff pastries were done. Altair took them out and Rashid struggled with them hot but was too stubborn to not try and eat them anyway. “I’ll clean the table since you cooked,” Rashid said when breakfast was over.

“Thanks,” Altair said and left the table. He got his backpack and changed out of his sleeping clothes into school clothes. He pulled on his favorite hoodie despite it probably being too warm for it and grabbed his homework and the rest of his gear.

“Altair,” Rashid said as he stopped at the kitchen to grab the last two puff pastries. He was going to give one to Malik. Altair looked at him. He felt hollow inside. “Are you sure everything is alright?”

“Yeah,” Altair nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

“You know if it’s something you can tell me, _ibn_. I love you.”

“I know,” Altair said. But would you still love me if you knew I liked boys? Altair couldn’t help but think. Islam didn’t allow homosexuals and Rashid could be a bit conservatives about his beliefs, and judgmental of other Muslims. “I’m gonna be late. See you after class,” he waved and Rashid waved back.

Altair arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. Malik as thrilled to see him and his homemade breakfast pastries. Altair had lost his appetite by the time he got to school. He ended up giving the other one to Yusuf who was notorious for not eating any breakfast and then being near death by the time lunch came around. Yusuf ate the entire thing in about two bites and Altair wondered how he hadn’t also eaten his own hand.

As the first bell rang Malik dragged Altair off to the side before they went to class. “You okay?”

“No,” Altair said weakly. “What am I gonna do? I have no idea.”

“About Miles?” Altair nodded weakly again. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know? I just know I don’t want the weekend to come since then he’ll be unavailable.”

“Then ask him out?”

“Not that easy for me.”

“Well maybe this’ll help light a fire under your ass. If you _don’t_ ask Miles out you’re still going to be friends with Aveline and we both know Connor is around his sister. If you don’t you’re going to have to _watch_ Connor be with the guy you like. Aveline made it sound pretty serious. Connor was just a mess yesterday until Aveline cornered him. I, unfortunately had to witness the interrogation since I was over at the time. They totally are already serious.”

Altair squinted at him. “Like how serious?”

“According to Connor, they made out.”

They’d made out? After Miles had been over his house? It couldn’t have been that long after either since Malik wasn’t allowed to stay past dinner before Mr. Kenway threw him the fuck out. Miles had gone from his house and within two hours was making out with another guy. He honestly hadn’t thought that Miles would kiss other guys. He didn’t know why he had but he had. Now he knew and he was mad about it. How _dare_ someone else kiss Desmond. And why the fuck would Miles kiss some ugly, bad hair, pimple faced sophomore like Connor when he so obviously liked kissing Altair. It made him hate Connor even more. What the hell was Connor doing that _he_ wasn’t?

Well for starters he was going to tell Desmond how he felt and ask him out, which Altair had been struggling to do for _weeks_.

“Altair, bro, you cool?”

Altair took a deep breath and calmed down. “I’m not going to lose to that twerp,” he said very seriously.

“Well that’s promising,” Malik said in a dead monotone.

The bell rang and they both went into their first class. Altair stewed the entire day and thought about what he was going to do. He could not lose to Connor. He absolutely could not. He refused to have to suffer through watching their relationship as Aveline’s friend. Honestly he wouldn’t have cared if they were together or not. Desmond still liked him. If Desmond came over to spend time with someone who wasn’t an awkward pimply faced idiot he wouldn’t stop him. It sure hadn’t stopped Desmond when he probably knew Connor liked him. Knew little Connor liked him and still kissed Altair. He didn’t even care if that meant Desmond would be cheating on Connor if everything went to hell.

That wouldn’t happen though because Altair was a lot of things. A loser wasn’t one of them.

By the time lunch came around Altair had psyched himself up into a bit of a madness. He just kept thinking about what he wanted to do, what he’d say. It’d probably all go out the window the moment it was happening but he liked having a plan of attack anyway. He did his best not to let it distract him from his school work but he barely took in any of the lesson. Thankfully he could be distracted and take excellent notes so he could look back on them.

The lunch bell rang and Altair calmly got out of his seat and waited near the bottom of the stair Miles always came down to go to lunch. It was the closest one to his class and the cafeteria and was right next to the library. He saw Miles coming down the stairs putting stuff into his book bag and moved into his way. Miles collided with him.

“Oh, I’m sorry I was just-

It was too busy here. Too many people. This probably wouldn’t be quiet so he grabbed Miles by the wrist without saying a word and dragged him into the barely ever used bathrooms. Miles was too surprised to even fight him and then they were inside the empty boy’s room and he shoved him into a wall. “What is your problem?” he growled. He still couldn’t believe Miles would leave his house and kissing him to a guy like Connor.

“M-my problem!? What’s _your_ problem? You just dragged me in here like a bad high school jock cliche.”

What was his problem? “You were kissing Connor.”

“Wh- First off.” Miles pushed Altair off him and he took a step back. “How did you even know that? And two, I can kiss whoever the fuck I want, perks of being single. _Including_ Connor, so what the hell is it to you?

Altair couldn’t remember a single thing he’d wanted to say during this and he felt like he was wildly off the rails. He could see himself from the outside and he was looking a bit crazy. All he could do was react to Miles’ anger. “I don’t want you kissing Connor.”

“Well _too bad_ ,” Miles scowled at him. He was going way off the rails here but he didn’t know how to bring it back. “I can kiss whoever the fuck I want, without your permission.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Too bad,” Miles said, “You’re not my boyfriend, I just sometimes fuck you, you don’t get to tell me what I’m allowed to do.” Altair stared at him for a second. That was it? That was all he thought this was? Maybe Miles needed glasses because he was _blind_. “Don’t tell me you’re surprised,” Desmond said, angrily.

“I’m just surprised you’re _so stupid_!” Altair cried and grabbed his hair. They both winced a little when the late bell rang. “Or that oblivious.” Was he really this blind? Altair prayed he wasn’t but maybe he was.

“What?” Miles’ confusion was genuine.

Altair rubbed his face in frustration. He didn’t feel angry now. He just realized the problem. Miles _did_ think that their relationship was just as he’d said. That they fucked sometimes. “You’re dumb,” he told Miles.

“Then please, _educate me_. What the hell is your damage?”

“You’re really this oblivious?” Altair asked. He could hardly believe it. He thought Miles was smarter than this. He thought Miles could see that Altair was interested in him. He’d hoped for so long that Miles would figure it out to save Altair from this very situation. This situation that just made Altair uncomfortable all over. But he said it, and he said it before Miles could respond in more hostility; “I like you.” They’d been quiet and scared. Altair was so scared now. This was it. He’d either be happy here or he’d be miserable with that confession. Miles was friends with Kaczmarek too and if it got out Altair liked boys as a rumor he’d literally die and never come back to school.

Miles blinked at him and said nothing for a few seconds. “You what?” his voice was raised an octave in surprise.

That emboldened Altair. That wasn’t a grossed out ‘what’. It was a ‘did I hear that right?’ ‘what’.

“I like you,” Altair said after licking his lips. Saying it again made it feel more real. Desmond’s face went a long way to reassure him too. It was like clarity and understanding swept all through him and his mouth worked in confusion, trying to find out what to say.

“You like me?” Desmond asked like he was scared of the answer. Altair nodded. There was silence for a few seconds and then, “You’re so stupid.”

“What?” That wasn’t how it went. Desmond was the oblivious one.

“I like you too you idiot!” Desmond yelled.

Altair blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected that. He honestly had expected some resistance. There had been none. His heart swelled and he felt it pushing against his ribs. Then reality reminded him of its existence and the existence of Connor. “Then what the hell are you doing kissing Connor?”

“I’m single, I can kiss whoever I want,” Desmond said. That wasn’t a good answer. What did he have to do to make sure that didn’t happen anymore?

“I don’t want you to.”

“Well too fucking bad. You aren’t my boyfriend-

“Be my boyfriend,” Altair’s mouth said before his brain had caught up.

“What?” Desmond looked shocked.

Altair was all in now. Weeks of missed opportunities and his stupid inability to talk to people or say how he felt to Desmond had gone away for the moment. He was going to milk it for all he could before his normal stupid brain came back and ruined everything. “I want to be your boyfriend,” he said. “Cause I don’t want you kissing anyone but me.”

He only had to wait a handful of seconds. “Okay,” and Desmond’s mouth had a curve of a smile in it. “But,” he added. Altair didn’t like the but. “I have conditions.”

“C-conditions? What do you mean you have conditions?” Altair demanded.

“I have conditions,” Desmond said.

Altair scowled, “What are they?”

“One, you have to be out.”

Sirens went off in Altair’s head. “What-

“I dated a guy who wasn’t and I was miserable. I’m not dating a guy I have to be secretive around. You want to be my boyfriend, you need to be out.”

Altair hated that condition. He hated it. But it also wasn’t unfair. Altair was pretty miserable in the closet. He hated that he wasn’t confident enough to tell Rashid the truth, to face whatever consequences there could be. He still hated the condition but understood. There were varying degrees of being out though. “Like… how out are we talking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do I have to come out to my grandpa?” That was the deal breaker. Honestly if he could come out on his own terms to his friends he was okay with that. He’d been meaning too, he was just too scared even though Malik told him monthly they wouldn’t care. Leo was gay, he was… something, Ezio’s brother was bi. Him coming out gay wouldn’t be a big deal. But his gramps? He couldn’t. He didn’t want to know what would happen.

“No.” Oh, thank Allah! “But I want to be able to be with you at school, and in public. You don’t have to tell Rashid if you’re worried about what he’ll do or say.”

“Okay,” Altair said, “I can do that.” He could totally do that. He knew no one at school would do or say anything if he was gay. The threat of the rumor had him horrified but if there was no rumor he could deal with it.

“Good. Two, if we’re dating, we actually go on dates. No more of this just, Desmond come over and we can fuck.”

“Not even sometimes?” Altair asked. That would be pretty shitty if they couldn’t.

“Well, not _all_ the time.” Good deal.

“Okay,” Altair said, “I can do that too. Is that all?”

“Any questions about them?” Desmond asked.

“No. I mean… they’re pretty fair, I thought you were going to have some crazy conditions. Anymore?” he huffed.

“Just one,” and Desmond smiled, “You have to kiss me right now-

Altair didn’t let him finish. He just did what he’d been wanting to do all day. He kissed Desmond. This was _his_ Desmond and Connor could fuck off. No one was ever going to kiss Desmond but him ever again. That made Altair smile. And Desmond was his boyfriend now.

When Altair decided he’d kissed Desmond enough for the moment he pulled away. Desmond had his arms around Altair’s neck. “I have some conditions too,” he said seriously.

“Okay?”

“No more kissing Connor or _anyone_ else, but me,” he said.

Desmond laughed a little at his ridiculousness. “Of course, stupid. That’s the point of going out, exclusive rights to the goods.”

“Two, I want you to stay away from Connor.”

“No,” Desmond said.

“No?” Fuck that. Altair didn’t want the two anywhere near each other.

“Yeah, no. Connor’s my friend. And I’ve done the whole possessive boyfriend thing before. Not interested in playing that game again. I won’t do anything with him, but he’s my friend and I’m going to continue to hang out with him.” Altair frowned at him, “Don’t look at me like that. How’d you like it if I told you not to hang out with Ezio anymore because I don’t like how he treats girls?”

“Okay.” When he put it like that Altair felt like a dick. But it was worth saying, “I get… jealous when you’re around him.”

“Duly noted,” Desmond said, “Any other things?” he asked.

“Go out to lunch with me.”

Desmond laughed, “Right now?” Altair nodded. “Lunch is like half over already.”

“I know, but we’ll go somewhere quick.”

“Okay.”

Altair took his arms from around him, “So, we’re going out?” he asked.

“If you’re out we are.” Altair must have made a face because he started a, “I told you-

“No I know, I know.” Altair didn’t want to do all of this on Desmond’s terms. He wanted to come out on his own. He was sort of being pushed into it (but he planned on doing it before the end of the year anyway) but he wasn’t being forced. He hated lying to his friends. “Give me the weekend? I don’t care about most people but I want to tell my friends that I’m… gay.” For some reason that made Desmond smile.

“And not through someone else or something.”

“Okay,” Desmond said, “On Monday?”

“Yeah,” Altair nodded, “So… lunch?” he asked.

“Yes,” and he smiled when Desmond kissed him on the cheek. He could get used to this. He’d get to kiss Desmond whenever he wanted to now. And Desmond could kiss him. He was going to get so spoiled but he didn’t care. He deserved it. They both did.

“I’ll drive,” Altair said and they walked out of the bathroom towards the parking lot.


	76. Chapter 76

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna be getting back to the present storyline (and Desmond) probably next chapter? Depends on if I wanna write Altair flailing about in the store before buying Desmond Snow or not lols.

Altair was in the Publix off N Roosevelt in the meat section. He was looking at steak. As he was he was his phone started beeping, disrupting his music he was listening to. He wasn’t even annoyed like he usually was since he’d been expecting the texts. He opened his phone. It was his friends responding to the text he’d sent about five minutes ago saying, ‘I wanna bbq tomorrow. Come over.’ Everyone said they wanted to come over and a few said they’d bring drinks or chips. Altair smiled looking at his phone even while he felt nerves simmering in his stomach. His friends were always up for a cookout and come eat his food. Which really what more could Altair ask for? The best thing someone who liked to cook could ask for was a group of friends who loved to eat and appreciated the cooking. He replied with the time. A brunch cookout, so to show up kinda early and work up and appetite.

Altair looked at the food in his cart ad he sent the message. Knowing his friends, all of them athletes except for Leo, they’d put all this away easy enough. He grabbed another carton of steak just to be safe. Not like he wouldn’t eat steak if they ended up not eating it. He grabbed eggs and turkey bacon and English muffins and chips and a pack or so of soda before he contemplated the baking aisle. He foresaw at least one of them being stuffy about the news and Altair already knew who it’d be. Ezio. Altair knew he’d just be upset he didn’t know before, that _Malik_ knew before he had. Ezio had been his first friend when he and his gramps had moved down here when Altair was just a kid. He’d be the only one who wouldn’t take it well.

The thought made Altair sigh and he grabbed two boxes from the baking aisle. One for brownies, and then two boxes of a white cake mix.

Food bought he went and paid. His gramps never questioned grocery shopping bills even when they were expensive so Altair didn’t feel bad when the automated scanning machine asked for more than a hundred dollars. Altair paid and put it all in his car and drove home.

When he got home he put everything away and his phone beeped at him again. It was from Desmond. Or rather ‘That One Guy’ because that was what he was in Altair’s phone. He’d have to change that. ‘Super busy at work I’ll be home late’ and then another text came in immediately, ‘sorry that was for my dad’. Altair just smiled at it. ‘It’s cool’ he texted back. That reminded Altair that he knew where Desmond worked now.

Altair side eyed his groceries before texting Malik. ‘Lets go to dinner’.

‘Can’t, hanging out with Ava’

‘All night?’

‘No. Why?’

‘Late dinner then.’

‘But I’ll see you tomorrow at cookout brunch?’

‘Just come out to dinner with me’

‘Oh you aren’t cooking? Can I bring gf?’

‘No’

‘Well, shit. Late? Like how late?’

‘8 or something? It’s at a place I like’

‘How pouty will you be if I don’t?’

‘Pretty pouty’

‘Fucker.’ ‘Fine, we’ll go out to dinner. You’re paying’

‘I assumed I would be’ ‘I’ll send you the address in a bit.’

‘K’

By the time Altair was done he’d put away most of his groceries and the ones he hadn’t put away were part of the prepping he planned to do for tomorrow.

He trimmed the steak and let it marinade. He boiled one of the dozen eggs he’d bought. He cut up the veggies he was going to use and put them into Tupperware and made a flavored butter because he could and it’d make the steak taste better. Last he took out the white cake mix, mixed it up as specified and separated it into smaller batches. Those batches he colored with food coloring and made multicolored cupcakes because he was super fucking gay and wanted to make sure they got the hint apparently. When the cupcakes came out he topped them with pink and blue frosting he’d made while the cupcakes baked.

By the time he was done with everything it was actually sort of late. He texted Malik the address for Desmond’s work and went to shower and pick out some clothes. Totally stupid for feeling like he had to specifically pick out nice clothes just to see Desmond when he crashed his workspace but Desmond had never seen him in anything but put together clothes or a hoodie of some sort. He was vain and smart enough to know he was both vain and that he didn’t want Desmond to see him in ways other than like he’d picked clothes specifically for others’ viewing pleasure. Which he did, because he was a weird vain creature who liked to know that other people were jealous of his clothing.

Malik texted him as he was finishing saying he’d meet Altair at Babalu’s. Altair checked himself in the mirror a bit to make sure he looked okay before heading out as well. He got there before Malik and waited around until Malik showed up. They got a table in the back corner and was not so secretly pleased when Desmond was their waiter. It was better because Desmond looked like he’d swallowed a lemon.

—

That night Altair only slept a little. He’d told Malik what he planned to do at brunch and after Malik had laughed his head off he’d proceeded to remind Altair about six times that none of his friends would be mad, or hate him, when he came out. Despite that Altair was still stressed out about it and slept poorly. He woke up early and sat out on his dock with a cup of coffee and some crumb cake his gramps had made a few days before, before he’d gone up north to help at one of his restaurants where the head chef was fucking something up. As it got too warm to just enjoy the day he got up and went back inside.

Around nine Malik showed up to attempt to cheer him up and lend moral support. The others showed up in a trickle. Some had brought drinks or donuts to snack on before brunch. Altair was glad they were there. Being loud and annoying. Then Altair announced he was going outside to cook and everything moved outside. Shirts immediately came off and if Altair didn’t know them all very well it would have been distracting. Instead he just smiled fondly when Yusuf and Leo _both_ tried to shove Ezio into the pool without success. Ezio laughed at them which was the perfect opportunity for Malik to shove him in. He practically landed on Yusuf and they splashed at Malik who scolded them for it. Malik jumped in cannonball style after them.

The only one who didn’t join them was Aveline. Malik had asked if he could bring her and Altair said he could. Altair was _sure_ Aveline would find out he was dating her brother’s crush today even if Altair didn’t tell her but he supposed she could hear it from him. It was probably better than become the asshole who’d tangentially broken her little brother’s heart. Aveline just sat on the side of the pool in a one-piece with cartoon bunny faces on it, her legs in but didn’t join in.

Altair started up the grill and grilled the steak he’d had marinating all night as well as the peppers and a few lemon wheels. This morning he’d peeled and cut the hard boiled eggs in half and he laid them on the grill as well. On a more mesh-like surface so they’d get grill lines but not actually get destroyed on the grill. As he did the cooking his friends were horsing around, grabbing at each other and splashing.

Then everything stopped when they made a critical error and splashed Aveline all over, sloushing her sun hat and half soaking her. They looked at each other in worry and then at Malik. Aveline stood up and they watched warily, hoping they hadn’t pissed her off. She tossed her sun hat away and they all yelled when she jumped into the pool with them. She practically landed on Ezio, who’d been the one to really get her wet, and everyone yelled when she dunked his stupid head under the water.

Altair finished up the cooking while everyone played in the pool, even toasting the English muffins on the grill, before announcing brunch was ready. Everyone climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel they’d brought out with them to sit at one of the outdoor tables. Altair made everyone a plate before joining them as the one dry person at the table.

Brunch was nice. They talked about silly stuff or school, or that both baseball and spring football practice was starting soon. While none of them had to do spring football practice because they were seniors the coach liked the seniors to show up every now and then to help coach the younger players. Only Yusuf actually planned on doing spring practice because he’d been scouted by UF for a pretty big scholarship. Ezio also played baseball in the spring so he’d be going to that. He played shortstop, which even after four years everyone still teased him about because it was such a diminutive sounding position for a tall, thick and muscled, dude like Ezio. They also talked about projects they were doing and whose parents were driving who crazy (the Kenways were equally driving Aveline and Malik totally mad), and video games they were playing or what they were going to do next weekend. The general consensus was a boat outing but Altair made no promises. Honestly he wanted to spend time with Desmond.

Eventually they finished and Altair announced he had dessert for everyone too, which was a surprise because Altair didn’t really like to bake. He went into the kitchen and grabbed the tray of cupcakes. “So before you destroy them,” Altair said as he joined them back on the deck, “I want you to take a long look and appreciate them.”

“I always appreciate your food,” Yusuf was quick to chime in.

“Good,” Altair said and put the tray down.

His friends craned their necks to look and he saw Malik having to stop himself from laughing. Altair wasn’t good at just coming out and saying what he wanted to say or how he felt. He knew he wasn’t _at all_ brave enough to tell his friends he was gay to their faces. So he just hadn’t. Instead he’d used the different colored frosting to very specifically spell out ‘I’m gay’ on top of his rainbow-colored cupcakes.

He wasn’t expecting much of a reaction really. “Dude, the fuck?” Ezio demanded. Altair just shrugged.

“This is really cute,” Aveline said and picked up a cupcake. “And I totally guessed,” she added with a wink to Malik who rolled his eyes.

“We can eat them right?” Yusuf asked.

“Yeah, you can eat them,” Altair said.

“Sweet,” Yusuf grabbed three.

For the most part nothing seemed to have changed except Ezio was still staring at him. Altair got uncomfortable quickly. “This is bullshit,” Ezio said at last.

“Hey now, be nice Ezio,” Leo said gently. “It’s very brave.”

“Fuck that why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.

“Because I knew you’d do this,” Altair said, mild as could be.

“Anyone else know this?”

“Nope,” Yusuf said. Aveline and Leo also shook their heads.

“I did,” Malik raised his hand a little.

“What the fuck!” Ezio cried. “Why’d you tell him first? I thought we were bros.” Ezio’s ego was hurt by the perceived betrayal of Altair coming out to Malik first and not him.

“We are,” Altair said. “You’re just… straight.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” Ezio folded his arms. “Leo’s my best friend.”

Altair gave him a look. “Do you talk to Leo about boys?”

“Uh-

“Yeah. No,” Altair said, unimpressed.

“Malik’s not gay either-

“I’m not straight,” Malik chimed in. “I’m just dating a girl now. Different.”

“Yeah but still. Didn’t you trust me?” Ezio asked.

“Honestly?” Altair asked him. “No. Not really.” Altair saw he had crushed Ezio a bit with that. “I knew it’d slip out on accident and I couldn’t let that happen. Especially not around Rashid. Like you guys can’t say anything about it to him.”

“Or what?” Aveline asked, simply curious.

“He’s a conservative Muslim. He’d either kick me out or send me to conversion camp or something. Gays don’t fit into Allah’s plans.”

Aveline grimaced, “Okay, fair point.”

“We won’t say anything to him,” Leo promised.

“Thanks.”

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Ezio continued to complain. Then he said the most annoying straight friend thing ever, “You’ve seen me naked.”

“Yeah and you’re not my type so get that idea out of your big dumb head,” Altair scolded him. “You’re my friend. That’s it. Don’t be such a straight bro.”

“And!” Malik said, “Not that it matters since he’s not available even if your ugly ass was his type-

“I’m not ugly,” Ezio snarled. Malik made an ugly face at him.

“You’re with someone?” Aveline asked him as Yusuf reached out and took two more cupcakes seeing no one was going to stop him.

“I… yeah,” he said his voice going up half an octave and he felt his ears turn a bit pink.

“Who?” Aveline asked excitedly.

“Uh—“ Altair said and looked at Malik. “Well-

“Yeah Altair, who caught your eye? I mean I knew you were picky, but this is a tad ridiculous,” Leo chimed in.

Altair rubbed the back of his neck. “One of the kids in our class. His name’s Desmond.”

“Who?” Yusuf asked, mouth full of food.

“I don’t think I know him either,” Leo said.

“Desmond?” Aveline asked and then looked at Malik. “…How many Desmonds are in our year?” Malik raised a single finger. She looked at Altair with a frown. “That isn’t very cool of you, Altair,” she said. Altair just shrugged. She scoffed at him and looked away. She wasn’t mad at him more just upset her poor, stupid, brother was going to get his heart crushed. Altair didn’t give a fuck even if he tried.

“And you’re dating a nobody, uuuuhg,” Ezio groaned. “Altair, this is unacceptable.”

“I like him okay? I can date whoever I want without your approval, Ezio.”

“ _Still_. They’re probably chump change and if we haven’t heard of them, in our small ass school, that means they’re a fucking loser. What is even your type? Lame?”

“For the record, I said the same thing when he told me,” Malik said.

“Both of you,” Leo said, “stop picking on him. Altair I think it’s very brave you came out, I know it can be scary.” Coming from Leo that was an understatement. He’d moved in with his aunt after his parents had thrown him out when they’d found out he was gay in middle school. Unlike her brother and sister-in-law Leo’s aunt was understanding and accepting enough to move him all the way from Wyoming down here to the Keys to live with her. Altair’s gramps probably wasn’t that accepting.

“Thanks,” Altair said.

“These cupcakes are bomb by the way,” Yusuf said, mouth mostly full of rainbow colored cupcake.

Altair chuckled, “Thanks. They’re from a box.”

“When you say it like that it sounds insulting,” Malik said.

“Cause they aren’t ‘fancy,'” Ezio rolled his eyes a little. Altair watched as Ezio had a minor ‘blue screen’ moment when he was forced to understand something he hadn’t realized before because he wasn’t exactly the best at subtle or deep concepts. “You totally made us brunch as an excuse for this entire thing.”

“No, ya think?” Altair asked him sarcastically.

“You literally could have sent a text!”

“Yeah right. Like Altair would want ‘by the way, I’m super gay and in love with a dude’ in written form,” Malik said and Altair punched his arm more than gently making Malik laugh at him. “He’d die first before that happened.”

“You’re so encouraging.”

“Hey man I’m just glad I don’t have to be the only one to listen to your problems now. You can complain to them,” he motioned to their friends. “You know Ezio is so good with the romantic advice.”

“That’s right… wait, fuck you Malik,” Ezio said when he realized Malik was being sarcastic. Altair just sighed and propped his face up on his hand. “I give fine romantic advice.”

“How many girlfriends have you had this year again?” Yusuf asked.

“He can’t help it he gets all the ones I don’t like,” Altair said boredly.

“Which is all of them,” Malik said.

“Hey, don’t act like I’m getting sloppy seconds here,” Ezio growled.

“We’re not. You just literally date all the girls who couldn’t get a date with Altair.”

“Which doesn’t fucking count since he’s gay,” Ezio said, jabbing his finger in Malik’s direction.

“Not that anyone knew that,” Malik was just antagonizing him now. Altair let him because it was funny. “And you know how stupid the girls who wanted to date a dumb dumb like Altair were-

“Hey,” Altair was indignant. “I’m smarter than you jackass.”

“In school stuff. You’re stupid in eeeeverything else, dumb dumb,” Malik said. “Meaning,” he switched back to giving Ezio a hard time because it was easy, “you fucked a lot of stupid girls, and they probably won’t even know after this either.”

“That or a bunch of girls are gonna be reaaaaal upset,” Yusuf said. “You know Rauf told me like three girls in the marching band have a crush on him.”

“Seriously?” Altair groaned.

“Yeah,” Yusuf nodded.

“Damn,” Malik said. “My point exactly,” he added. “Get ready to bang some band girls, Ezio.”

“Malik, that’s crude and gross,” Aveline said.

“What? It’s true.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, you’re being an a-hole,” Leo said.

“Leo, I don’t know if you’ve met me or not? But I _am_ an asshole,” Malik said specifically to tick a box he knew Leo hated.

“I think you should be quiet now, Mal,” Altair said. “You’re getting all worked up.” He gave Malik a hard look, Malik made a face at him but didn’t say anything. Malik _did_ have a behavior problem.He just talked without thinking or caring and could say some really horrible stuff if he was allowed. Usually when Altair noticed it it was bad so when Altair said to be quiet it meant he was shooting his mouth off like an asshole.

“I am well aware you are,” Leo said.

“Hey, let's not right now,” Altair said, raising his voice a little. “No fucking fighting at brunch.”

Leo looked away and at Yusuf. “How many did you eat, Yusuf?”

Yusuf’s mouth and beard had dots of frosting sprinkled on it. “Uh…” he looked down at the cupcake wrappers guiltily. “They’re good,” he said.

“Please, eat them, I won’t,” Altair said and pushed the tray over to him. As he did Aveline grabbed a cupcake for herself and methodically peeled off the cupcake wrapper.

“Sweet.” Yusuf grabbed another one and realizing everyone was watching crammed the _entire_ thing into his mouth, cupcake wrapper included.

“Ahg! Yusuf!” Leo cried while the other boys laughed. “That is so bad for you!” Yusuf said something but his mouth was so full it came out as mush. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to talk with your mouth full?” Leo asked. More mush mouth. “Uhg!” Leo threw his hands up a bit in frustration and looked away.

“I’m gonna hit the pool again,” Malik announced and got up.

“You shouldn’t swim after you eat, Malik,” Leo said.

“I’ll be finnne,” Malik said and walked off. Yusuf ate the last cupcake before joining him, tugging on Leo’s wrist with a smile to make him join the two of them. Leo grudgingly joined them. That left Altair, Ezio, and Aveline at the table of empty plates and glasses.

“The fuck is his problem?” Ezio asked Altair.

“Malik? Everything,” Altair said.

“He’s so smug, I hate it,” Ezio grumbled.

“Ezio, I feel the need to remind you that you’re the smuggest, most egotistical, jerk I know. And you’re a jock with a lot of money,” Altair said a bit deadpan.

Ezio squinted at him a little. “Same to you,” he said and Aveline giggled a little. “That’s funny how?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I just see why you’re all friends now. You’re all stupid,” she said.

“Hey-

“She’s got a point,” Altair said.

“Though you’re both more and slightly less stupid today,” Aveline told Altair.

“Not sorry for your depressed brother, in case you were wondering.”

Aveline shrugged a little. “Love sucks, he’ll get over it.”

“Wait—what?” Ezio was totally lost.

“Ava’s bro totally crushed on- my boyfriend,” Altair felt himself smile when he said the word.

“Yikes. Don’t envy that. Had to deal with that with Claudia. Except she was like ten and liked Vieri, not even sure why. He’s so _weird_.”

“Especially because your brother is like the embodiment of the smug sunglasses emoji,” Altair said.

“I know!” Ezio cried while flailing his arms a bit. “And Vieri is the turd one.”

“Who’s that?” Aveline asked.

“His brother’s… boyfriend? Still boyfriend?”

Ezio scoffed, annoyed, “For now. I guess. Mama keeps asking him if he’s going to get married. She just wants an excuse to plan a wedding since Claudia is little.”

"What, no hope for you?” Altair teased him. “She’s already decided you’re too dumb to know how to keep a girlfriend?”

“You’re such a shit,” Ezio growled.

“You really shouldn’t have dumped that Cristina girl, just saying.”

“She fucking _moved_ okay?” Ezio demanded. “What was I supposed to do?”

“It’s like listening to girls talk. I have no idea you did this,” Aveline said, she was still working on her cupcake.

“We could talk about sports if you wanted,” Altair said. “Really get the testosterone flowing.”

“I’m good,” Aveline said. Cupcake only half eaten she wiped his hands before going to join the other three in the pool.

Ezio watched her go before turning to Altair. “Why didn’t you trust me?” Altair was surprised by how serious he was.

“Are you still on about this?”

“Is it cause Malik’s an Arab too? I’m too white or something?”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with that,” Altair said.

“Then what?”

“You’re straight,” Altair said.

“Yeah but it isn’t like I don’t know about guys. Leo talks to me about them. Not like I’m un-fucking-aware of how to have dude talk.”

“You’re taking this way too personally,” Altair said. “And this is kinda why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew of everyone _you_ would be the only one to make it a big deal. Somehow it’d be about you and not me. It’s not _about_ you. I trusted Malik to be quiet about it.”

“Did you like Malik or something?”

Altair groaned and leaned back in his chair. “It doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t. And for the record, no. I never liked _either_ of you. You’re not my type. It came out by accident and I couldn’t unsay it, so Malik knew before anyone.” And then Altair had had a breakdown realizing someone else knew and he’d been exposed. Malik had spent three hours after his slip of the tongue reassuring him he didn’t hate Altair and he wasn’t going to tell anyone. They’d been in eighth grade and kids that age were horrible monsters who eviscerated anyone who was different than them, including and especially gay kids. It wasn’t as bad here in Key West as Altair knew it was in other parts of the country but that didn’t make his fear any less real. “Don’t think so much about it.”

“But I am, cause you’re my friend,” Ezio said. “And for the record, I’m going to be as critical of your boyfriend as you all are of my girlfriends,” he added.

“Real mature.”

“Also he’s a nobody loser,” Ezio scoffed. “Almost like you took the only guy available.”

“Fuck you Mr. Will-Fuck-Anyone. I like him, which is more than you can say for your ‘girlfriends’. You didn’t even like half of them.” Ezio made a face at him, Altair made a face back.

Yusuf found them making ugly faces at each other and trying not to laugh, dripping wet. “What you talking about over here?”

“Gay shit,” Altair said.

“Cool. I gotta get going,” he looked at Ezio.

“Why?” Altair asked.

“My mom just called. Said I didn’t do all my chores,” Yusuf made a face.

“Did you?” Ezio asked.

“Well— No,” he admitted. “I didn’t do any of them.”

“Nice.” They high fived.

“So can we go?” Yusuf asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Ezio stood up. “Hey Leo!” he called. Leo stopped swimming around and looked at them. “We’re going. Unless you want a ride home from Malik.”

“Pfft, yeah right,” Altair said under his breath.

“Coming,” Leo called back and climbed out of the pool and started to dry off a second time. “So will we get to meet your boyfriend on Monday?” he asked when he joined them.

“I mean, you’ll see him,” Altair said, sort of weirded out. “Not like you’re my parents and need to meet my boyfriend.”

“Will he be hanging out with us?”

“Probably not,” Altair said. “He thinks you’re all kinda scary.”

“Good,” Ezio said.

“Ezio, be nice,” Leo said.

“I’m like, the nicest guy you know,” Ezio said, getting up from the table.

“Thankfully, that isn’t true,” Leo said with a smile to Ezio’s absolute shock that Leo would just totally destroy him like that. Yusuf gave a sarcastic golf clap while Altair covered his mouth to hide his smile. “So, are we going?”

“Yes, we are,” Yusuf said. “I have chores or something,” he rolled his eyes.

The three of them gathered up their clothes and Altair saw them out. When Altair went back out to the pool Malik and Aveline were kissing. “No heteros in the pool-

“Not straight!” Malik stopped long enough to yell and flip Altair off.

Altair just chuckled. “Come help me clean up.”

“Why should I?’

“Cause I made you fucking brunch that included steak. Now come stop being an asshole.”

“Finnne,” and Malik heaved himself out of the pool. Aveline walked up the stairs to help as well. They took everything inside in one trip. Malik and Aveline trailed water through the house but Altair didn’t mind. They put away all the dishes. “So, now what?” Malik asked him.

“Uh? I don’t know? Do I have to keep entertaining you?”

“Will you?”

“Honestly I just want you out of my fucking house,” Altair sighed. “I need to lay down for like eight hours and do nothing after all this dealing with people shit.”

“Pft, fine. Can we use your shower?”

“Together? Absolutely not. Aveline you can use the nice shower in the guest bedroom if you’d like,” he said to her.

“You’re such a killjoy,” Malik said.

“Do you want to borrow a pair of sweats?” Altair asked him, all nice and Malik scowled.

“Sure. I guess,” Malik shrugged.

“Sorry Ava, I don’t really have any clothes for you to borrow. I don’t own anything nearly cute enough,” that made me laugh.

“It’s okay. A dry shirt would be nice. My shorts are still dry.”

“I think I can do that,” Altair nodded.

He showed Aveline the guest bedroom and told her he’d leave a shirt on the bed. Malik used the hall bathroom, taking the clothes in with him. Altair cleaned the rest of the kitchen while they were in there before flopping down on the couch. He really just wanted to lay there and not move for a bit. Malik and Aveline came out of their showers a bit later, redressed. He sat up so he could see them over the couch. “Please tell me you’re leaving now,” Altair said.

“Yeah yeah, we’re leaving,” Malik said. “Also we should totally do a boat party once it gets a bit warmer.”

“Right,” Altair said and laid back down.

“I’m going to take that as a ‘get the fuck out’, then?”

“I’m trying to be nice. But yes. Get the fuck out.”

Malik’s stupid face appeared over the couch. “Good job today,” he ruffled Altair’s hair and then was gone. Altair turned his head as he heard the door open and close. Outside a car started and he heard it drive away.

Altair was alone and the silence was comforting. He felt really relieved he’d done that and everyone had accepted it. He knew they would have. Altair was allowed to lay there thinking and doing nothing before his phone rang. Why was it ringing? Still he only let it ring twice before he succumbed to curiosity as to _who_ the fuck would be calling him and dug it out of his pocket. He was glad he did when he saw who was calling him. But why was Desmond calling him?

He picked up, “Hello?”

“Hey. Can I come over?” Altair’s brows went up. He sounded really upset. “I know you said you were talking to your friends or something but…”

“But?” Altair asked.

“I wanna see you.”

“What’s the matter? Something happen?” If Connor had done something he was going to beat the shit out of him. All rationality was gone for a few seconds. Altair would beat the fuck out of anyone who messed with his boyfriend.

“I’m a fucking asshole is what happened. I had to tell Connor I was dating you and now I feel horrible.” Altair blinked. Desmond sounded really upset about the entire thing. Doubt curled in Altair’s stomach a little before he squashed it. If he regretted it he wouldn’t have called Altair.

“You can come over. All my friends just left.”

“You told them?”

“I told them.”

“What’d they say?” Desmond sounded genuinely curious at least.

“Only Ezio took it bad. He was just mad about how much I’d seen him naked.”

“Stupid straight guys.”

“Basically. But yeah, come over.” That would be weird right? Was that weird? “I’ll make you something.” Because of course, you fed sad people food. He was a god damn genius.

“Like what?”

“Mmm,” Altair forgot everything he had in the kitchen. His entire mind just went totally blank on every recipe he knew and ingredient he had in the house. He couldn’t think of a single thing until he remembered yesterday in Publix. “How about brownies?”

"I like brownies,” Desmond said so quietly Altair barely heard him.

“Yeah you would. Brownies fix everything.”

“Yeah. Okay, I’ll be right over.”

“See you,” Altair said and that was it. Altair just laid there still, holding his phone in one hand and staring at the ceiling. “Ah fuck,” he muttered. Now he had to deal with this. Not that it was bad exactly. He wanted to spend time with Desmond. But he also wanted to have a few hours to himself to just decompress and recharge after that brunch. He laid there until he heard Desmond’s motorcycle idling outside and sat up. He didn’t go and get the door he just waited until there was a knock on the door. Altair rolled off the couch and answered it.

“Hey,” he said when he opened the door.


	77. Part 3: At it Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place immediatly after chapter 64

Altair watched Desmond back his bike up before turning around in the driveway and driving away from his window. Then he looked down at the silly stuffed animal he’d bought. “Well, that went well,” he told the bear like it could understand him. Snow, of course, said nothing. Altair walked back to his room, and pulled on pajamas. Before anything else he changed the sheets on the bed because sleeping on sex sheets by yourself was just sad and gross. Once his sheets were changed he crawled into bed with Snow, grabbed his phone and read for a bit before passing out with the bear tucked under his arm.

When he woke up it was fairly early and he had a few missed calls and a single text. Surprisingly they were all from his grandpa who said he’d be away until Sunday. Meeting with a friend who’d finally come back stateside after being in Southeast Asia for two years and would only be in Los Angeles for a few days. Altair rubbed his eyes and checked his voice mail, none. Good. His gramps knew better than to leave him voicemails _most_ of the time but he still did. No voicemail he looked at his text and he frowned as he brows went up. Rashid was coming home later today. His flight got in around one pm and it had instructions for Altair to make lunch.

“Damnit,” Altair grumbled. He’d expected his gramps to be gone all weekend at least but he was coming back early. Altair told him he’d make lunch and actually looked at the time. It was only eight thirty. He texted Desmond ‘wanna hang out?’ because he really just wanted to hang out.

While he waited for Desmond’s answer he got up and did his bathroom ritual. A text was waiting for him once he was done. ‘Like hang out or /hang out/‘

‘Like come over to my house and hang out’ ‘also I’m making lunch’

‘I’ll be over in a bit. Mom made breakfast’

‘K’

Satisfied with that Altair made his bed and went to find himself some breakfast too. He left Snow on the bed, sitting propped up against his pillows, and went to the kitchen. He made french toast with some old bread he had around and smothered it in butter and maple syrup. Then he dressed down and went to the room where Altair had a set of weights and a treadmill. His gramps liked to use the treadmill, said the day he stopped walking at least half a mile was the day he keeled over and died. Altair used it only sometimes but mainly just used the free weights.

Once he felt he’d done enough he took a shower and basically just waited around for Desmond to show up. He fiddled around with his phone but it had been an hour and he was impatient. He sent Desmond another text. ‘Wya?’

‘Awww, miss me that much huh?’

Altair scowled at his phone. Jerk. ‘Snow misses you’

‘I’m on a run rn. Once I’m done’

Altair’s eyes immediately glazed over. He remembered seeing Desmond running down US1 without a shirt on and how he’d first become aware that Desmond _was_ hot. ‘Where you running?’

‘Around the base’

Damn. Altair put his phone down a moment before texting a quick ‘k’. How good would it have been if his boyfriend just showed up at his door shirtless and sweaty? Altair allowed that fantasy to play out for a few minutes before having to stop before he gave himself a hard on. Instead he sat up in bed and went back out to the kitchen to distract himself from the mental image of Desmond running around without a shirt on.

His gramps said make lunch. Altair had no idea what he was going to make. He didn’t even know what he had on hand or if he’d have to take stuff out to defrost. He went to the pantry, which was honestly just another normal sized room in the house because his gramps had a million things in it, and opened the freezer in it. He rifled around looking at all the packaged meat trying to figure out what to make. There was a lot of variety in here too since Rashid was friends with ranchers, hunters, and fishers who’d send him all sorts of meat or sold it to him for cheap. That or they were family farms or fisheries Rashid’s restaurants bought their meat from and just sent Rashid some for his patronage. There was even pork in here and it was nicely freezer burned at this point. Altair took it out just to throw it out.

Altair had had pork only enough times he could count on one hand because his gramps said it was important he know what things taste like even if he wasn’t ‘supposed’ to eat it. He knew how to cook it and thought it smelled nice when cooked right but thought it tasted a bit weird. Somehow he had a feeling telling his red-blooded American boyfriend he didn’t eat bacon was going to end in a gasp of horror and Altair rolled his eyes at the thought. He decided on some New York strip steak he’d marinate really well and cook on the grill with a nice salad. That sounded like a great idea.

He was working on lunch prep when his phone went off a few times and he looked at his hands. They were covered in tomato juice and pulp. He could ignore it. Then he looked at who the messages were from. Desmond. Despite finding himself a weak bitch for it he used his food covered hands and his nose to open his phone to see what he had to say for himself. He smiled when he saw Desmond was coming over and sent Desmond five bullshit face smashed into the phone’s keyboard texts before he just wiped off one hand and texted him properly. Then he went back to what he was doing.

Desmond showed up as Altair was checking on the steak he had running under water. Thankfully New York strip was a pretty thin cut of meat so it thawed quickly under water from the faucet. Altair was greeted by the sight of Desmond in his leather jacket, helmet tucked under his helmet and his hair a bit wet and matted from his shower and then wearing his helmet over here. “I’m here, happy?” Desmond teased him.

“Only a little,” Altair teased right back and leaned over to kiss him hello. Desmond smiled when they kissed and that was such a great feeling.

“What are you making for lunch?” Desmond asked as he came inside and unzipped his jacket.

“Steak and salad,” Altair said.

“Sounds fantastic. Pretty fancy for just the two of us.”

“My gramps is gonna be here too.”

“Oh? I thought he was in California.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Altair sighed as they walked towards the kitchen. “But, he’s coming back and said make lunch. So, I’m making lunch.”

“That’s cool. I like your grandpa,” Desmond said, put his jacket on a stool and sat next to it.

“You’ve only met my gramps twice,” Altair said.

“Yeah and? Both times he’s been cool. He dresses like he’s still in the eighties it’s amazing,” Desmond laughed. Altair had to admit, Rashid did dress like it was the eighties when he was home. He’d seen the old man both dressed up and in his chef apron and he was not nearly as comfortable looking. Instead he was absolutely terrifying with his gray hair all slicked back in a ponytail and his gray eyes that looked like he’d snap you in half. He could be a scary dude. Just one of the reasons he didn’t want his gramps to know he was gay amid the myriad. “What are you doing?” Desmond asked as Altair dumped some herbs into a bowl.

“Making butter,” Altair said.

“Butter? But that’s butter in the bowl.”

“Herb butter. You’ve never had any?” Desmond shook his head. “How? You look like your parents are ethnic, how have you never had herb butter?”

“My mom’s Hispanic okay?” Desmond said defensively. “They don’t do butter like that. I mean she puts it in god damn everything but that’s fancy white people butter. Her _abeula_ didn’t cook like that so she has noooo idea. Her Mexican is awesome though.”

Altair let the comment settle. “So, what, your dad’s white?”

“Basically,” Desmond shrugged. “Some of my cousins can list off every percentage of white we are but that’s cause they’re racist bigots. We don’t really talk to that side of the family if we can’t help it.”

“Yikes,” Altair said as he mixed the softened butter with the herbs. “Sorry.”

“It’s cool. I barely ever see them. Pop-pop doesn’t like them very much. They aren’t getting _any_ inheritance way I heard it,” he laughed a bit evilly.

“Inheritance? You got money?”

“Pop-pop owns a _ton_ of land up in South Dakota,” Desmond said. “Most of it is empty but a bunch has houses on it and stuff and people rent the houses out. Apparently he basically owns a town out there. Every building is his, or something.”

“Or something,” Altair said.

“I don’t care really,” Desmond shrugged. “They’re far away and my other cousins pop-pop doesn’t hate will probably get all the land and money.”

“You don’t think you’ll get any?” Desmond just shrugged at that. “Really, don’t care at all?”

“I just am not worrying about it. If I get anything or not isn’t a big deal. My dad’s got like half a dozen siblings or something and I have a shit ton of cousins. It’s why my dad stayed in the military. He didn’t wanna be bothered with staying on pop-pop’s good side to make sure he had an inheritance.”

Altair could honestly say he was riveted by Desmond’s family explanation. He had no idea and wanted to hear more about big family dynamics. The only other person he knew with a big family was Ezio but they weren’t nearly as dysfunctional as Desmond’s by the sound of it. “That’s really cool, that you have a big family.”

“I guess,” Desmond shrugged.

“I’m an only child and have one great-uncle who lives in the States.”

“Yeah? Where the rest of the family?”

“Back in Israel far as I know,” Altair said. “Or dead. Never met them regardless.”

Desmond frowned. “Listen, having a big family isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” he told Altair. “And you’re a proper spoiled only child and have noooo idea how lucky that is. I had hand-me-downs until just a few years ago when Duncan graduated. I don’t think I got an actual new set of clothes outside of the first week of school growing up.”

“That sounds unhygienic,” Altair said, wrinkling his nose.

“Once I got smart I realized I _really_ shouldn’t wearing Duncan’s hand-me-downs.”

“Why?” Altair had a feeling he knew the answer but didn’t want to know as curious as he was.

“So you know how Ezio has like a girlfriend every two months or so?” Desmond asked and Altair nodded slowly. “That was my brother. So imagine me, but looks good with facial hair, and buff from doing karate, and that’s my brother. Apparently the absolute heartthrob and absolutely miserable to live with,” Desmond groaned.

Altair laughed as he used a rubber spatula to scrape the herb butter into a smaller dish. “Why?”

“Cause he’s the kind of guy who _knows_ he’s hot and just makes everything weird. He’s like the exact opposite of you. At least he was. Has a new girlfriend now and she’s seemed to level him out. Hopefully. Realizing your brother probably came in the pants you were wearing will make you never want to touch his stuff again. Hey! Not fucking funny!” Desmond cried but Altair couldn’t help it. He’d just burst out laughing and was partially doubled over the counter. “Altairrrrrr,” Desmond whined.

Altair covered his mouth to smother his laughter. “Sorry. Sorry,” he said, hiding his smile.

“No you’re not you fucking prick,” Desmond grumbled, arms folded.

Altair breathed out and put the butter in the fridge to keep his back turned from Desmond. He pretended to rummage around until he could control his face before looking back at Desmond who was sulking. “Sorry, sorry,” Altair said again. He checked the steak still running under the water and determined it was thawed enough to take out of the package to finish thawing in a bowl of marinade. “Your family sounds fun,” he said as he tore open the packaging.

“When they aren’t driving me crazy, they’re great,” Desmond said.

“Sounds like how families are supposed to be. Or so I’ve been told. It’s just been me and my gramps since I was little.” He put the meat aside and pulled out the ingredients for the marinade. He saw Desmond wanting to ask about his parents so bad but realizing it was super rude. He was grateful he didn’t ask because Altair didn’t like talking about it. “Should I make a spicy marinade?” he asked Desmond.

“I dunno. I’ll eat anything.”

“You’re the worst eater,” Altair scowled at him.

“How? I eat anything.”

“And have zero opinions on what you put in that bottomless pit you call a stomach!” That made Desmond laugh a little. “Spicy?”

“I like spicy,” Desmond said coyly and Altair gave him an annoyed look. “My family is more rub people so whatever is cool.”

“You look like the people who do actual barbecue,” Altair said, almost like an insult. Made the marinade and put the steak in it.

“Lived in Texas for like six years, so yeah,” Desmond grinned.

“So that’ll marinate for a while and my gramps is coming in at one. I need to pick him up from the airport,” Altair said as he covered the bowl in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge

“That’s a few hours away still,” Desmond said. “What’ou wanna do?”

“I don’t know? I’m kinda boring,” Altair admitted as he started to clean up. “I just wanted to see you.”

“Awww,” Desmond cooed. “That’s sweet. Hmmm, well what do you do when I’m not around?”

“Read,” Altair said.

“Ugh,” Desmond made a face.

Altair chuckled, “Right, you don’t like books.”

“I like books,” Desmond protested, “I just don’t find reading enjoyable. I liked when you helped me with my reading homework that one time. Which totally needs to happen again by the way. It was awesome.”

“Maybe,” Altair said as he put things away and wiped down the counter. “Movie?”

“So long as it isn’t First Class. Even though it is cute watching you watch it,” Desmond teased him and made Altair blush.

“I have other movies,” Altair said. “Or Netflix.” Desmond liked the sound of that so they went into the media room and Desmond picked a movie out from Altair’s collection. It was Captain America. Not one of Altair’s favorites but he didn’t mind because Desmond totally cuddled up to him while they watched it.


	78. Chapter 78

t was a weird day. Mainly because Catarina wasn't sitting next to Desmond in chemistry. He had no idea where she was and felt her absence fully because when they were allowed to do private work Altair got up and came to sit next to him. Catarina never missed a day of school and even came to school when she wasn't feeling her best. So either something had happened to her or she'd caught the plague. It was weird Altair just sitting next to him reminding him he actually had a class with his boyfriend.

"Yo, Earth to Desmond," Altair said, waving his hand a little in front of his face. He'd been staring at the same paragraph of text for like five minutes "You come in?"

"Huh?"

"You were totally spacing out," Altair said, quiet enough to not leave their table.

"Oh. Sorry," he said just as quiet.

"You finish reading or what?"

Desmond made a face. "No," he admitted. "I was thinking about Catarina."

"Why?" Altair rose a brow at him.

"Cause she's not here. I hope she's not sick or something."

Altair looked at him like it'd never occurred to him to worry about the health of one of his classmates. "That's a nice thought," he said. "But really we need to do our work."

"Yeah. Right, duh," Desmond nodded and focused back on the text. He was reading and glanced over, Altair was just looking at him. He started to feel super self-conscious since he read slow and knew Altair read fast. "Why're you looking at me?"

"Cause I like looking at you," Altair said and poked his forearm a little. Desmond felt his ears heat up a little.

"Well, can you not? It's making me self-conscious about fast I read."

Altair leaned over a bit, "I can read it to you," he said softly, his hot breath against Desmond's cheek.

"Uhhhh-" Desmond's brain stopped working for a few seconds. "Erm- I mean- uh—" Altair just chuckled. Really he could spend the rest of the class on just reading through this chapter let alone get to the problems. "Yeah. I- uh… wouldn't mind," he didn't know why he stammered so much. Altair had _offered_.

"Alright," Altair said. "Where did you stop?"

"Right here," Desmond pointed and Altair grabbed his chemistry book and put it in his lap. He rearranged their position so he could speak easier into Desmond's ear and read from his book while Desmond could follow along in his own. All in all, it was really considerate. When Altair started to read he didn't whisper, but just dropped his voice to a bit above, and otherwise talked normally.

It was the quickest Desmond had ever gotten through a chapter in a science text and he comprehended most if not all of it. They still had a little less than ten minutes left of class too and could work on the problems together which was nice and reminded Desmond of 'tutoring'. Except Altair didn't pretend to act stupid. He liked when Altair didn't act stupid because he was actually pretty smart. Altair also referenced the previous text constantly and took insane notes. Notes he'd taken on his first read through and then taken the extra time to read it again for Desmond.

Desmond was happy when the bell rang. They packed up their things, problems half done to do for homework, and left basically together. They only shared one class and Desmond's next class was calculus, Altair's was English which were in different buildings. Before Desmond could walk off Altair snagged him by the wrist and pulled him out of the way of traffic against the railing of the exposed walkway. "What is it?" Desmond asked.

"Wanna do something tonight?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno, we could go out?"

"I'd love to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's club day today."

Desmond was wary immediately when Altair perked up at that. "Can I come over then?"

"Uh… I don't know? I'm not sure how the others would feel about it."

"Well ask 'em then. Or are you more worried about your parents?"

"I'm not," Desmond said. "They use club night as an excuse to go out or visit friends. My parents think it's too complicated to understand."

Altair laughed a little, "Yeah. My gramps says the same thing the times he's watched me play video games. But really, ask them. I'd like to come."

"Well I don't think you could participate," Desmond said.

"That's fine. I could just watch."

"I'll ask," Desmond nodded. "Why are you asking me now and not after school?"

"I'm helping with the football spring training. They don't have a good upcoming linebacker for varsity so the coach asked me to come in and show them how it's done."

"Oh aren't you just the smuggest thing ever," Desmond said to Altair's cocky grin like yes, of course, they'd have to call Altair in cause he was better at it than anyone else they had. "Now I gotta get to class," he said.

"Alright. Text me if I can come over or not."

"I will," Desmond promised and before he left he gave Altair a quick kiss on the lips that made Altair's entire face just shift upwards. It wasn't quite a smile but his delight was obvious even as Desmond left to go along the upper walkways to get to his stupid calculus class. Even though really he just wanted to stay there and kiss Altair some more. If he was allowed to come to club Desmond had a feeling he'd be doing that later anyway so was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story consider leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.


	79. Chapter 79

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s taking a lot of self-restraint to not write chapters of everyone in their characters like I did in chapter 24 when they play D&D. Been listening to too much D&D shows.

Desmond was piling up the D&D books up on the table when Clay showed up. He always showed up first to help Desmond set up unless it was Shaun’s turn to DM. Then Shaun usually showed up first. His parents were still there but his mom was in the bedroom getting dressed. They were going up to Marathon for some sort of party or something. All Desmond knew was that he didn’t have to go so that was cool in his book. “What were we doing last time again?” Clay asked Desmond as he poked around the little bag of figurines Desmond had. They were easy birthday gifts for his friends to get him, and pretty cheap, so he had a nice collection to pick from. It was that or dice because Desmond was otherwise _super_ picky about the geek memorabilia in his room. And really geek memorabilia in general. The N7 hoodie he was wearing definitely passed the test of being cool enough for Desmond to want it.

“We just got back from a job so were talking to our commander and had been given leave. So we were going to find a new job on the board.”

“Oh, right!” Clay said as he found his figurine. For the most part their games were just dungeon crawls which fit into all their stories. They were all mercenaries who worked for the same company and did jobs together. It let them get sweet loot and no one worried about the world too much. The loot was more fun. “I couldn’t remember if we’d gotten back to the fort or not. Thought we were still in Riven.”

“No, we were back,” Desmond said. “You up for healing the group yourself today? Gerard’s not gonna be around to help. You’ll actually have to take some healing spells,” he teased Clay. Clay played cleric and loved taking none healing spells for more utility spells since their bard and ranger could both sort of heal and the fighters could heal themselves. Desmond, who played a paladin, did almost more healing than Clay did.

“I guesssss,” Clay groaned at a knock on the door. Desmond went and got it. It was Aveline.

“Hey, guys. Oh… I’m early aren’t I?”

“Kinda hard not to be when you live down the road,” Desmond said and let her in.

“Yeah. I tried to get Connor to come but he’s still acting like a huge wet blanket about the entire thing.”

“He can take all the time he wants,” Desmond said.

“I guess. He’s so fucking tragic,” she rolled her eyes a bit. “You’d think the world had ended for how mopey he is.”

“Ava,” Desmond said with a bit of a strained smile, “not helping me not feel like shit here.”

“… Oh! Right. Sorry,” she said. “Forget I said nothing. I just see Clay and know I can talk about anything and he likes to hear it.”

“Yeap,” Clay said proudly.

“Dude, you shouldn’t be proud of the fact that you’re the town gossip.”

“Why not? It’s fun,” Clay beamed.

“Okay, never mind,” Desmond said and brought out the folder of character sheets both living and dead. The only one who’d had to restart a character recently was Shaun but when they’d first started playing and Shaun had become DM the power had gone to his head and he’d tried to TPK them every time they met. At least until everyone complained. Now they had adventures that were fun, but challenging. He handed the folder to Aveline and she started leafing through it for her druid.

Shaun and Rebecca showed up after that and Lucy pulled up as Desmond’s parents were getting ready to leave. His dad was wearing a nice collared shirt, meaning it was sort of a fancy party. “Have fun,” he called and Chloe opened the door just as Lucy was knocking which led to an awkward moment before she was allowed inside. She joined them and the parents left so it was just the group of them. Lucy fished her character out of the folder and they moved chairs to allow Lucy room at the table. “Okay, so before we recap I have a question.”

“Okay?” Shaun said.

“Altair wants to watch us play. I told him I’d ask you guys first in case that was weird. You cool if he just hangs out?”

“I don’t think it’s weird. I don’t mind,” Clay said.

“Same,” Rebecca said and that was the general consensus.

“He doesn’t want to play right? Cause five people is a lot of people to juggle. I don’t think I’d want to run a game with six players,” Shaun said.

“I already told him he couldn’t play and he said he was fine with watching. So if he wanted to play we’d figure something else out. Not for club day.”

“Oh good. Cause when Connor was around it was so annoying to make encounters you guys didn’t just steamroll,” Shaun groaned.

“I feel you,” Desmond agreed and took out his phone. He sent a quick text to Altair. ‘They say it’s cool. You can come over when you’re done with practice. Door’s open so just come in.’

“When’s he coming?” Lucy asked.

“He’s got football practice so not till after,” Desmond said and that made everyone nod. “Okay. So last time you’d just gotten back from helping Count Vlannstein with a wyvern problem and had returned to Fort Farrunner to give the good news to your Commander-

Desmond reminded everyone what had happened and then gave them a day off so they could finish projects around the fort or shop or fuck off. Then he brought them back to the center of their campaign, the bounty board where they could take bounties that were sent to their mercenary group. After quite a bit of arguing between the three elfish members of the party they decided on a very simple sounding bounty of investigating the disappearance of cows in the city a half day’s ride from the fort.

Around that time he got a text from Altair. He ignored his friends while they bantered during the ride. ‘Just got out of practice. Gonna clean up and come over.’ He caught something about Clay’s halfling making a pass at Lucy’s half-elf and her almost shoving him off his horse but was distracted when Altair sent him another text. He’d learned though. His phone was on silent and the light just blinked when he had a message. ‘Should I bring anything?’

‘Like?’

‘Food?’

Desmond looked up at the party who were still teasing each other. ‘Like?’

‘Idk. Make a good first impression and all.’

“Hey guys,” Desmond said, cutting off Shaun’s smart ass remark to a very cross looking Rebecca. Oh, what had Winston said to Naga now? Couldn’t the two just get the fuck along? “Altair wants to buy us dinner. What do you want?”

“Woah, seriously?” Rebecca asked.

“Yeah,” Desmond nodded.

“That’s nice of him. He doesn’t have to,” Lucy said.

“He’s offering,” Desmond shrugged. “We want pizza?”

“Is that a trick question?” Clay asked.

“Okay. What do we want on it?” He got five different responses. “Okay.” He sent them all to Altair.

‘So many???’

‘They can’t decide. Lols’

‘I mean I will buy six pizzas.’

‘Only if you wanna. Or buy whatever you want. They’ll eat it. Free pizza is the best flavored pizza’

‘kk’ ‘be over soonish then :)’

Desmond put his phone down. “Okay, Altair’s gonna bring us pizza.”

“Dude, your boyfriend is officially the best boyfriend,” Clay said. “I wish I had a boyfriend like that-

“I’m _right_ here,” Lucy glared at him.

“What? I already have the best girlfriend ever. I wish I had a boyfriend like Desmond’s that’s all,” Clay said. Lucy just rolled her eyes at him.

“Anyway. So you were on the road to Anderline to figure out about these cows. You doing anything else before you get there?” They eventually made it to the city to investigate the cows. Most of the party talked to the farmers, Aveline talked to the cows. The party was in the middle of figuring out what they were saying to both the cows and the farmers when the door swung open.

Desmond couldn’t help but smile when Altair eased himself in. He was too cute to look awkward but he was doing his best to look awkward anyway. “Someone order pizza?” he asked when everyone turned to look at him. At the very least he hadn’t _actually_ brought six pizzas. He’d brought four pizzas.

“Ooo! Bring ‘em over,” Clay beckoned. Altair nudged the door closed with his hip and went around to Desmond’s side of the table because that was where there was actual room to put stuff down. Desmond pulled down his barriers so Altair could set the boxes down. “What’d you get?” Clay asked.

“Kinda a little of everything,” Altair said as they opened the boxes.

Desmond leaned around to see what the pizzas were. “That was smart,” he told Altair. Altair had gotten half a pizza of everything Desmond had texted him so everyone could have what they’d wanted. Everyone figured it out that that was what was going on and traded boxes around so they could have the pizza they had ordered. Shaun, the only responsible one, got up and got everyone plates.

“And this is the bill,” Altair handed Desmond a slip as Desmond frowned.

“Bill- oh, very funny,” Desmond said with a grin. The ‘bill’ just said ‘4 pizza = 4 kisses’.

“And I got this one for us. Mr. I-Eat-Anything,” Altair said and grabbed the last box, opening it. It was also halved. One half was meat lovers, the other was mushrooms, artichoke hearts, pesto, and meatball. “Guess which side is yours,” Altair teased him.

“I mean it’s pretty hard to figure it out,” Desmond gave him a look. “Why’d you get meatball on your half? You strike me as a pepperoni guy.”

“Can’t eat pepperoni. It’s pork,” Altair said.

“So?”

Altair stopped, gave him a look. “I’m. Muslim,” Altair said, eyes widening a bit like he couldn’t believe he had to explain this and Desmond stared at him.

“Well. I’m stupid,” he said as he took a bite of his meat lovers.

“Yeah you are. Now, I usually don’t care, but I’d like the tab paid sooner rather than later.”

Desmond snorted, “Yeah. Okay.” He pulled the box top up to sort of block them from the others who were eating and talking, and kissed Altair three times on the lips and a fourth time full on the mouth. He didn’t wanna take it too far but that didn’t stop Altair from slipping him a little tongue and making Desmond all sorts of flustered as he now very self-consciously ate his pizza. His boyfriend was an asshole. Altair was just kinda smug.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of pizza they threw out the boxes that were empty or put away the ones that weren’t and got back to the disappearance of the cows. As Desmond was going through it with them Altair was looking through his books and picked up the DM manual at random. Desmond only glanced at him to see he was starting to read it but kept his attention on the party.

They ended up having Wisteria beast shape into a cow and make herself look as appetizing as possible. That night a group of sylph came and ‘lured’ cow-Wisteria away to the wood beyond the city. The party followed and they ended up in their lair deep in the woods. They had to go down a rabbit hole and go through a bunch of tunnels and fight off sylph and various fey-like creatures. In the end they came face to face with the leader of the sylph who was using the cows’ bones for some ritual. They fought the sylph leader, killed her, and had to fight a few other creatures and sylph before booking it out of the lair as the entire place started to fall apart around them.

State of the cows restored the party returned to Fort Farrunner to check out the stuff they’d looted off the sylph and collect their money from the Commander for a job well done. Desmond and Shaun usually ran one-off so they could do them in a day and not interfere with how they switched off every other week. Sometimes jobs ran through two sessions but not often. Not when they started playing at four-thirty-ish and ended around nine-thirty-ish so people could go home and do homework if they wanted.

“Good job everyone,” Desmond said and lowered his barriers.

“Dude, that sylph queen was crazy,” Clay said.

“Yeah she was.”

“That was fun,” Aveline said and everyone helped put away the figurines, dice, and handed Desmond their character sheets to hold onto. It was easier for Desmond to just hold onto everything after three or six character sheets had ended up destroyed because of rain or got thrown out by a parent who didn’t know what they were tossing. Now everything stayed safe with Desmond. “I need to get going you guys. I’ll see you at school.”

“Bye Aveline,” everyone said and she waved as she left.

“I also need to get going. I have so much homework,” Shaun groaned. “And it’s forty minutes to get home.”

“You could stay over,” Rebecca said, helpfully.

“While that is a nice suggestion, I think it’d be too distracting,” Shaun said.

“Gross,” Clay made a face.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Shaun said and Rebecca also said goodnight and hopped up to leave with Shaun. Probably to make out for a few minutes against one of their cars before leaving.

“I wanna leave as well… but I don’t wanna follow them,” Lucy said.

“Why?” Altair asked.

“Because they’re gross PDA monsters,” Clay said.

“Oh,” Altair frowned.

“You could help me bring this stuff back to my room,” Desmond offered. Lucy nodded and they gathered everything up. “You done with that?” he asked Altair, pointing at the book he had open on his lap. Desmond had had to steal it a few times to look something up but for the most part Altair had had it the entire time.

“I’m still looking at it,” Altair said. Desmond nodded and followed Lucy and Clay back to his room. He had space in his closet for the D&D stuff since he wasn’t really a ‘hang shirts up’ sort of guy. There was a bin for the books, bags, and other little tubs of dice and figurines.

“Think it’s safe?” Clay asked as they walked back up to the living room.

“Probably. I’m willing to risk it. I wanna go home,” Lucy said.

“Same,” Clay yawned. “Thanks for the fight, Des, it was fun,” he clapped Desmond on the shoulder and then he and Lucy walked out.

That left Desmond alone with Altair who was still pouring over the book. Desmond went over to him. “Having fun?”

“Reasonably,” Altair said, distracted. “It’s a lot. How do you remember it?”

“Been doing it a few years,” Desmond shrugged.

“Huh,” Altair nodded. Then Altair looked up at him, “Do I have to go home too?”

“I dunno. You wanna?” Desmond asked.

“No. I wanna hang out, and read this,” he pointed at the book.

Desmond chuckled, “You can take it with you when you leave if you want.”

“Really?” Altair asked.

“Yeah. And maybe this one too. Hold on,” Desmond went back to his room. He jumped a little when he turned around and Altair was in his doorway. “Player’s Handbook too.”

Altair took it. “Okay.”

Desmond looked at him a minute. “I didn’t think you’d be into stuff like this,” he said.

“I’m not really,” Altair said. “But you are. I wanna know what you like about it so much so you can talk to me about it if you wanted to.”

Desmond’s heart completely melted. “That’s really sweet,” he said.

“I can be sweet,” Altair said and kissed him like he’d been restraining himself the entire time he’d been over here from kissing him. Desmond kissed him back and it was the best. Because every kiss with Altair was the best kiss no matter how many times they did it. Desmond ended up holding Altair’s jaw in both hands and they got a little carried away. “What time are your parents coming home again?”

“Mmmm, probably like ten or eleven,” Desmond said.

“Damn.”

“Yeah,” Desmond frowned. “You should definitely stop reading to enjoy the moment, hmm?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Altair agreed. He put the two books down on Desmond’s desk and before Desmond could protest, not that he would have, Altair pushed him down onto his bed. They ended up making out for a while until Desmond heard the sound of his dad’s car pull up to the house.

“Ack-“ Desmond pushed Altair’s face off his. “Okay. Enough of that. Parents are home.”

Altair grumbled and got off him. “Isn’t it easier to just tell your parents?”

“Hell no. If they knew I’d be grounded cause we’re both here, by ourselves, unsupervised.”

“What is this? Sixth-grade dance?” Altair rose a brow at him.

“My parents had three boys. They are so done with knowing every bit of furniture _might_ have been fornicated on if they weren’t around to monitor the situation.”

“Yikes. So what’s the excuse?” Altair asked as they heard the door open and close.

Desmond got up and grabbed Altair’s hand. He shoved Altair into the desk chair. There was a knock on his door as he flipped open one of the books. “Desmond?” William called through the door.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Desmond called back. “Come in.”

William opened the door a little. “We’re home- oh. Hello,” he said when he saw Altair. “Who’s this?” He opened the door more so he could stand in it and see Altair better.

“My friend, Altair.”

“I didn’t know you had a friend named Altair,” William said curiously.

“He’s a new bro,” Desmond said. “He came by to watch us play D&D.”

“Ah… what’d you think?” William asked Altair.

“Lots of rules,” Altair said.

William chuckled, “Yeah, that’s about as far as I got too.”

“I’m showing him some stuff so he isn’t as confused when he makes a character,” Altair looked at Desmond in confusion before quickly schooling his features.

“Ah. Well, it’s ten forty young man.”

“Okay.”

“So wrap up what you’re doing here and make sure your friend knows the way off base before curfew.”

“I will,” Desmond nodded.

“You do your homework?”

“No,” Desmond scoffed.

William sighed. “Alright. Well, your choice if you’re going to be an idiot I guess-

“Hey! Dad!” Desmond whined while William laughed and Altair covered his mouth with his hand. “Mr. Four-point-oh GPA over here. I think I can afford to miss a homework assignment now and then.”

“Alright. Your mother and I are going to bed, so try and keep it down. And just twenty more minutes,” he added.

“I know,” Desmond groaned. William left after that.

“Your dad seems nice-

“Uhg,” Desmond groaned. He went over to his door and locked it. “He’s just nice cause he thinks we’re friends. He’s soooooo critical of me or Duncan’s boyfriends.”

“Why?”

“I think cause he doesn’t have daughters so he doesn’t get to give the boyfriend the hard time,” Desmond said. “My dad is, if nothing else, a proud stereotype.”

“So nothing but the best for his little boys, huh?” Altair asked and gave Desmond an annoying and teasing pinch on the cheek.

“You’re the worst.”

“Still bought you and your lame friends pizza,” Altair smirked.

“Yeah you did,” Desmond agreed.

“So I only have like fifteen minutes till I have to leave,” Altair got up from the chair. “I wanna leave with something nice to remember.” He backed Desmond up to the wall and pressed him against it. “I guess you like the hoodie huh?”

“I wear it a lot, honestly,” Desmond said. “I wear it and boxers around the house most of the time.”

“Ah. Now that’s something nice to leave with,” Altair said and rubbed the tip of his nose against Desmond’s. Desmond swallowed when Altair unbuckled Desmond’s belt and pushed his jeans down. Desmond’s heart fluttered a little when Altair kissed him again and nuzzled against his neck a little. Then he unzipped the hoodie and with more than a little finagling got Desmond’s shirt off too.

In the AC it was cold and Desmond jammed his arms through the sleeves of the N7 hoodie again. “There we go,” Altair said, looking Desmond up and down. “Looks good on you,” Altair’s hands reached around to grab his ass firmly and make Desmond inhale sharply. Altair kissed and nuzzled his neck.

They started when there was a knock on the door. “Desmond,” William said in a warning sort of way.

“Ah shit,” Desmond climbed back into his jeans and had to adjust himself around his chub so his fucking dad wouldn’t notice. At least the hoodie was long enough to hide it. Altair grabbed the books off the desk and Desmond opened the door. William was halfway back in his own room now and making sure his son’s friend left at an appropriate hour.

Desmond walked with Altair to the front door and out. “We should go out,” Altair said. “Tomorrow?”

“Okay,” Desmond nodded. “Where to?”

“A restaurant. You can tell me more about this stuff,” he patted the books. “It’ll be interesting if nothing else.”

“Alright,” Desmond said.

“I’ll see you at school,” Altair said and leaned over to give Desmond a final kiss goodnight. It felt so nice and was perfectly gentle. Then Altair got into his red Mercedes and drove away. Desmond went back inside with the worst happy butterflies he’d had in weeks and stumbled back to his room to jerk off and go to sleep because fucking parents were the worst cock blocks in the history of forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story consider leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this garbage is 80 chapters long. Can you believe this shit?

Altair’s head was spinning. It was spinning and he really couldn’t believe he was doing this. Which was reading D&D books. _Why_ was he subjecting himself to this again? Oh right. Boyfriend played. Of course his boyfriend played fucking D &D.

After school he had nothing better to do, so he was still going over the books Desmond had leant him. It was surprisingly dense. And he didn’t understand the terminology. Well he sort of did cause he’d watched last night but a lot of it was just right over his head. He’d never felt so in over his head and out of his depth before.

He lifted his head up from where he was reading at his desk. Who the fuck was knocking on his front door? He checked his phone. No messages. He wasn’t expecting any Amazon packages either. Desmond wasn’t meeting up before their date later, they were just going to meet at the place, so it wasn’t him. Who the fuck was here?

He went to the front of the house but didn’t open the door. Instead he peaked out the curtains first. He immediately opened the door. “What are you doing here?” he asked Malik.

“I needed to escape,” Malik said.

“What?”

My brother. He’s being… insufferable,” Malik walked into his house. “Got a new girlfriend and she’s meeting our parents tonight and I can’t be around them cause he’s being such a smug little jerk.

“Isn’t he always like that?” Altair asked, closing the door.

“Well… yeah. But today he’s extra smug. He thinks he’s so cool and grown up now that he’s got a girlfriend and I just wanna puke.”

“I take it you met her already?”

“Uh, yeah, cause I caught Kadar trying to sneak out after I was on a date with Ava. Uhg.”

“Huh. Well, you can stay for a little bit, but I’m leaving in a few hours.”

“Leaving?” Malik gave him a look. “You’re actually, willfully, leaving your house on a Thursday? Why?”

Altair gave Malik a dead pan look. “I’m going on a date with my boyfriend,” he said.

Malik’s eyebrows went up. “Huh. You’re a real changed man, aren’t ya?” Malik teased him.

Altair rolled his eyes at him. “This is literally what I’m supposed to do with a boyfriend, idiot,” Altair said and went back to his room. Malik followed and laid out on his bed a little.

“I guess. Just hard to think of you as the guy who goes on dates now,” Malik said.

“Not everyone is like you, you know,” Altair gave him a look. Malik meant all the one-night stands he’d had.

“No. They couldn’t be as awesome as me,” Malik agreed. Altair sat at his desk and went back to reading. He really wanted to get through most of at least one book so he could talk about it with Desmond at dinner. “What are you reading?” Malik asked after a few minutes.

“The dumbest thing ever,” Altair said.

“What is it?” Altair just lifted the book up and showed Malik the cover. “What! Seriously?” Malik jumped up and came over to the desk. He tried to grab the book.

“Hey, fuck off,” Altair yanked it back and pushed the other one at him.

“You’re actually reading this thing? I know you said ‘club’ was D&D but you’re actually reading it.” Malik picked up the other one and started leafing through it.

“Yeah. Miles’ read it too.”

“How’d you get this?”

“He let me borrow them,” Altair said. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ava doesn’t talk about this club thing, like _ever,_ ” Malik said. “But I’m actually kinda interested in it,” he admitted.

“Okay?”

“Did you go?”

“Yeah.”

“What the fuck! I have asked Ava like every week since you told me club is D&D if I can come and she’s always told me no.”

“Well it’s different when your boyfriend runs the club I guess,” Altair said smugly.

“Uhg!” Malik threw up a hand, still holding the book. He looked at the book, then at Altair. “Ask him if I can come next time.”

“I don’t think it’s his decision,” Altair said. “Sounded like he needed to make sure everyone was okay with it.”

“Yeah but went,” Malik protested.

“Again, Miles kinda runs the club,” Altair said.

“Well _ask_ him at least,” Malik huffed.

“Why are you so worked up about this? You aren’t normally this into silly stuff like this.”

Malik frowned at him, then frowned harder at him, before saying, “One of my brother’s little friends plays. So that means Kadar plays. Not often. Like once a month cause they live up the Keys and my parents don’t wanna drive. But he always has fun-

“If you wanna play I could ask,” Altair said.

“I mean—“ Malik’s frown deepened to his entire face.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes?” Malik said like he was’t sure, and he was in some bit of pain.

Altair chuckled. “Well, I’ll ask. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“Alright,” Malik sighed. He put the book down and went back to sit on Altair’s bed. “So when are you leaving?”

“Six,” Altair said.

“Dang. So I have to suffer through dinner with Kadar’s girlfriend,” Malik grumbled.

Altair turned around in his chair. “Bro,” he said and Malik looked at him unhappily, “tough shit.” Malik just shorted.

—

They were having dinner at one of the restaurants on an off street of Duval. It was busy but not crowded and not at all formal. Desmond was waiting for him already and Altair smiled at him when he came up. He smiled more when Desmond gave him a kiss hello. “There you are,” Desmond said. “You’re late,” he added.

“I had to kick Malik out and he was whining and complaining and being difficult, I’m sorry,” Altair apologized.

“It’s alright,” Desmond said and they went and got a table.

“So I have something to ask to get it out of the way so I can say I did it,” Altair said once they were seated.

“Hmm?”

“Malik wants to come to club. Apparently he actually kinda knows about it.”

“I mean…” Desmond grimaced a little as their waiter came over to take their drink order. “I’d have to ask everyone. And Shaun’s DMing next week he might not want people he doesn’t know watching him. He’s pretty self conscious,” he said once the waiter left.

“Huh. Alright. I mean I guess that’s fair,” Altair nodded. “I’ll tell him and he’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Basically,” Desmond shrugged. “So have you actually read the DM book?”

“I mean, I’m in the process of,” Altair said. “I only understand like half of it,” he admitted.

“Maybe you should read the player’s handbook first instead? That’s more an intro guide. DM book is more for people who’ve played already and want to DM.”

“I’ll give it a try then,” Altair said as their waiter came back with their drinks. Neither of them had even looked at the menu and said they needed a few more minutes. They decided to actually look at the menu for a bit and figure out what they wanted before continuing the conversation. “I don’t think I’d want to do what you were doing. Seems like too much work.”

“It _is_ ,” Desmond said. “I usually spend a few hours planning what we’re going to do that week. But since me and Shaun trade off I get plenty of time to do it. It’s still a lot of work.”

“Are they all like that?”

“Well, ours is. Most of us aren’t super into huge story components. They just wanna dungeon crawl and get loot. I played a campaign back in Texas that was more story driven and complex. It was fun too but didn’t last as long. Easier for people to come in and out of the game we have now so it isn’t important if you’re there every week. Cause everyone is in the same faction and we all do the same job that we do every week. Story driven campaigns are harder to miss weeks out of or you miss part of the story.”

“Huh,” Altair said.

“My friends just want to kill things and get loot,” Desmond shrugged, “so me and Shaun made a killy, looting, campaign for them. Nothing big ever happens but that’s okay.”

“You sound like you wish you could make some stuff happen.”

“I mean yeah. But I don’t think I’m good enough to pull it off either. That kinda stuff is _hard_.” Altair laughed a little as their waiter came back and took their food order and refilled their drinks.

“I can imagine from just what I’ve read,” Altair nodded. “It sounds interesting though.”

“It is. You have fun watching last night?”

“I did. Kinda. I was only half paying attention cause I was reading. I paid attention when things got serious though. Like when they had to fight the… sylph queen?” he asked. Desmond nodded. “That was a pretty intense fight.”

“And it doesn’t help that they’re all high level,” Desmond said. “We’ve been playing those characters for a while so they’re all seriously leveled up. Like level fifteen.”

“That’s high?”

“Well considering twenty is epic, which is a little less than godly, yeah, that’s pretty high. Everyone’s hoping we’ll get to level twenty before I graduate but I doubt it.”

“When… you graduate?”

“Well I’m a senior,” Desmond said.

“Aren’t the rest of them?” Altair just assumed he’d never had classes with the rest of Desmond’s friends because they just had different classes.

“No? They’re juniors. Except Connor and Ava obviously.”

Altair had honestly never had to think about this until right now. “Hold on. How old are you?”

“Mmm, gonna be seventeen on the thirteenth-

“Next month?”

“Mhm,” Desmond nodded. Altair smacked one hand over his face with a bit of a whine. “What? What’s the matter?”

“You’re _sixteen_?” Altair asked.

“Yeah?”

“Fucking god.”

“Altair, what’s the matter?”

“I had no idea you were sixteen,” Altair said.

“So? You’re only a year older than me.”

“Yeah, and you’re still a minor.”

“You aren’t gonna make this weird are you? Cause I don’t want this to be weird,” Desmond frowned.

Altair frowned back at him. He sighed a little. “No. I guess not. It’s just… weird. I usually don’t like… do stuff with people younger than me cause I think it’s borderline creepy.”

“I’m not _that_ much younger than you,” Desmond rolled his eyes. “And it wouldn’t be the creepiest relationship I’d ever been in either.”

“What?”

Desmond sighed a little. “So, when I first moved here I was a sophomore, a year ahead of everyone else so I should have been a freshman. I got a boyfriend who was a senior.”

“That’s… pretty creepy.”

“Yeah. Remember I said I’d done the whole possessive, in the closet boyfriend thing?” Altair nodded. He vaguely remembered Desmond mentioning it. “That was him. And looking back on it, it was _awful_. This is way better. Just don’t make it weird.”

“Who was it?” Desmond didn’t say anything. “He still live in town?” Desmond shook his head. “Then who was it?”

“Ah- uh-“ he was saved from answering Altair when their waiter showed up with their food. It smelled awesome and tasted delicious. It also totally derailed the conversation and Altair forgot what he’d been trying to ask Desmond about. Wasn’t that important anyway.

“I had a thought,” Desmond said, halfway through dinner. Altair just nodded a little to show he was listening since his mouth was full. “You said Malik was interested, right?” Altair nodded again. “Are you?”

Altair swallowed. “Kinda? I don’t think I understand it enough to be interested in it.”

“We could play a game if you wanted,” Desmond said. “If you got one or two other people you wanted to play with. Two’s a too small party to play without having skilled players, an excellent comp, or you’ve prestiged a few times.”

“Really?” Altair asked.

“Sure,” Desmond shrugged. “I mean the best way to figure it out is to just play it and see if you like it.”

“That’s a great idea,” Altair said. “I’m sure Malik will be fucking ecstatic too,” he chuckled. “He was really upset when I told him he couldn’t come too. Apparently he’s been begging Ava for weeks.”

“Find someone else you wanna play with and let me know. I’ll set something up,” Desmond said brightly.

“Alright,” Altair nodded.

They spent the rest of dinner talking about other things. Like what they were going to do after this and school and if they were going to go back to Altair’s place and bang afterwards. Desmond also had to suffer through all of Altair’s date ideas he’d been compiling of all the touristy thing Desmond had never done. Like go on a ghost tour or the conch train, or the aquarium, the butterfly atrium, and all the other shit people paid a lot of money to come down here for. Eventually they finished dinner and the waiter brought the check.

Before Altair could take it Desmond snatched it up. “Hey-

“Shut up, I’m paying tonight,” Desmond told him sternly.

“You don’t-

“You pay for everything else. I’m paying for tonight. Shut it,” Desmond told him sternly.

Altair just sighed at him. “Fine. Whatever,” he said and Desmond smiled, pleased to have won. “I get to leave the tip,” he said digging out his wallet. Desmond agreed to that and Altair left some money on the table. Once Desmond had his card back they got up and left.

“So what did we agree on again?” Altair asked, checking his phone for the time. It was almost eight.

Desmond grabbed his hand. “How about dessert? There’s a great place down on south Duval. Best ice cream ever.”

“You mean Flamingo Crossing?” Desmond nodded. “Sure. What about after though?”

“Hmm,” Desmond said as they walked away from the restaurant towards where Altair had parked his car. It was too far to walk. As they walked Desmond grabbed his hand and Altair had to fight the momentary urge to pull his hand away. He had to remind himself he was out and if his boyfriend wanted to hold his hand he should be able to. Not to mention he _liked_ holding Desmond’s hand. “I say we go back to your place, digest some, maybe watch a movie,” he stepped aside to bump into Altair as he said, “and fool around.”

“Sounds like a pretty successful date to me,” Altair agreed.

“I know right? Look at us acting like a normal couple and everything,” Desmond beamed at him as they arrived at Altair’s car.

“I’m buying dessert,” Altair said as they got in.

“Fine,” Desmond rolled his eyes a little as he closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story consider leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.


	81. Chapter 81

Desmond was absolutely sweating bullets as he walked up to the front door. It was nice out so he wasn’t sweating cause of the heat. He was just walking up to the Auditore house. He’d only been here for a party or two, and never in the light. There was a string of cars parked in the long driveway and Desmond had spotted Altair’s perfectly clean red Mercedes amid them along with some others he had vague notions of who they belonged to.

He probably stood in front of the door for a solid three minutes before ringing the door bell. He was surprised when a child, no older than nine or ten, and a terrible bowl haircut, answered the door. They leaned back to look up at Desmond. “Hi,” they said.

“Uh… hi,” Desmond said slowly.

“Petruccio, who is it?” he heard Ezio yell from deeper in the house.

“I don’t know,” the kid yelled back.

Desmond completely wilted when Ezio came over to the front door. Ezio was bigger than Desmond in every way that mattered. He was a tall brick shit house and was a real jock’s jock despite being a complete pretty boy. And he was as tall as Desmond. It was more than a little intimidating, especially because he didn’t like Desmond. Desmond had _no_ idea why. He had barely even spoken to the other kid. Ezio just didn’t like him.

“Oh,” Ezio said when he saw Desmond, “you’re here.” Desmond just nodded. Cliches were a thing for a reason and Desmond was just a weak little nerd who was intimidated by a guy like Ezio who looked like he could break him in half. To be fair Altair sort of looked like that too but Desmond also knew Altair was a loser like him. Ezio wasn’t a loser. “Come in,” and Desmond followed Ezio inside. Ezio sent his little brother back to his cartoons or whatever and Desmond followed Ezio to wherever they were going.

Desmond had little to no memory of Ezio’s house. The only two times he’d been here he’d been drunk as shit and the most recent visit had been almost completely wiped because that had been the one night stand with Altair. The place was fucking huge and three stories. The first floor, like a lot of homes, was up on twelve foot tall stilts with a second floor above and then the underside of the house enclosed as a ‘basement’ ‘third floor’ sort of thing. It was probably as big as Altair’s house but unlike Altair’s house that only had him and his grandpa living in it the Auditore house actually _felt_ lived in. Despite being in Altair’s house more Ezio’s felt far less intimidating on the inside.

Ezio led him to a dining room. There everyone was seated at the big table. Altair and Aveline were there and so were a few more of Altair’s friends. He recognized them at least so he didn’t feel like an idiot. Malik and Leo were both there, and sat on opposite sides of the table, as far from each other as possible. Oh right. They’d been going out before.

“Hey Des,” Aveline said when she saw him.

“Hey,” Desmond said still feeling like his soul wasn’t really in his body. He swallowed and took a seat at the head of the table. Thankfully Altair was sitting next to him but he was still super nervous. “So uh, just you five?”

“That’s okay, right?” Altair asked as Ezio sat down next to Leo.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Desmond nodded.

“This is gonna be so fun,” Aveline said, “not that I don’t like playing with your friends Desmond but I think I’ll like this party more.”

“Heh, it’s fine,” Desmond repeated. He just felt really nervous and awkward. Especially with Ezio and Malik fucking staring at him. “Well… so uh, did Altair and Ava give you the basic run down-

“What the fuck Aveline? How come _he_ gets to call you Ava?” Ezio demanded.

“Because he’s nice and you’re not,” Aveline said in a perfect ‘better than you’ Mean Girls tone. “Duh.” Ezio glowered and Desmond just wanted to hide. He hadn’t even done anything! Why did Ezio hate him so much?

“Yeah Ezio,” Malik sneered at him. “Maybe if you weren’t such a jerk she’d let you.”

“You’re like the biggest jerk we know,” Ezio said, deadpan back to Malik.

“And yes, Desmond, we told them the basics,” Aveline said and he was really glad she was here. “But we didn’t start anything yet. I… don’t know how to really fill out a sheet,” she admitted.

“Alright,” Desmond leaned down to the big bag he’d brought and pulled out some paper folders and a few of his books. Altair had since given him back both of the books he’d borrowed after admitting he had only understood about half of what they were going on about. “Well, we can do character sheets first then.” He put the books and folders of the table and grabbed his bag of dice as well. Leo leaned forward with interest. He was on Desmond’s other side and had so far not said anything but Desmond could see he was interested.

“So I printed out some things so you didn’t have to read the Player’s Handbook,” Desmond said as he opened one of his folders. There were six stapled packets in it and he handed out the five. “These are cheat sheets for classes and races you can pick.”

“Can I just play Wisteria?” Aveline asked.

“Wisteria?” he heard Malik ask.

“I think you should play a new character,” Desmond said. “You can make her again if you want but she’s way too over leveled for a new party since they’re all going to be starting at level one.” Aveline just made a noise of complaint but took the cheat sheet. “So look those over and figure out what you might want to be and let me know when you think you have something.” Malik and Leo were both engrossed and Ezio looked like he was barely even skimming it. Aveline was busy talking softly to Malik to help him figure out what he should be.

“I already know,” Altair said. “I was thinking about it earlier.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that.”

“I want to be a tiefling fighter.”

“Alright,” Desmond said and pulled out his books and gave Altair a set of dice and a character sheet. He guided Altair through filling out the information on his sheet and then had him filling out his stats he wanted for his character. Then he went and helped the others who’d figure it out.

Leo decided to be a gnome cleric, which sounded interesting. He also just wanted Desmond to give him one of the books to see if he could figure it out himself. Not because he didn’t want Desmond’s help but so that he could learn to do it himself and ask Desmond if he had questions. Malik had a terrible time grasping what to do when his time came to figure out what to do but he eventually decided on an elf rogue. Aveline’s druid in the other game was more of a shapeshifter than a caster and she liked casting magic so decided on a elf warlock. Both of them needed to be coached almost the entire way through it and Malik kept picking up the wrong dice and swearing up and down when he fucked it up. Last to figure it out was Ezio who asked probably the best question Desmond had ever heard.

“Does our party need anything?”

That went over everyone else’s head because they looked at Ezio in confusion. “Hmm,” Desmond looked at the others. They had two attackers with Malik and Aveline, a shot caller with the cleric and a tank from Altair. They were only really missing a character to handle crowd control since everyone else was basically good at just going one on one with enemies.

“Well, do you want to cast spells, or hit things?” Desmond asked him.

“Mmmm, I think I want to cast spells,” Ezio said.

“There are a few classes you might want then, none on the sheet though,” he said. “Let me see-“ he pulled out one of his books and leafed through it. “So there’s a type of warlock called an invoker where you basically cast lots of debuffs and attack spells and later on can summon a dude to help you fight.” He flipped through some more pages, didn’t find what he was looking for and opened another book to leaf through it. “Annnnd a psionic class where you fuck shit up and cast spells with your mind. And oh… what was that other one,” Desmond couldn’t remember. He took out his phone to look. “Oh, right, invoker. Fuck shit up with the power of god. Kinda like Leo only your spells hurt way more.”

“That second one sounds cool,” Ezio said. “Kinda like a psychic?”

“Yeah basically,” Desmond said.

“Desmond are there other types of warlocks?” Aveline asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah. Most of the basic classes have subclasses but I don’t know if it’s important to think about right now since you’re all level one and I don’t know if this party will play again anyway. _If_ that happens I’ll tell you about other warlock classes,” he promised her.

After that Desmond helped everyone flesh out their characters more and made sure they were geared up. It only took two hours. Which two hours for five new characters made by totally new players was pretty quick. Surprisingly Ezio was a complete min/maxer and at least forty minutes of those two hours were him arguing with Desmond to let him be a giant floating humanoid shaped brain called an ‘unbodied’ that Desmond had never even heard of. Needless to say, _that_ wasn’t happening. So Ezio had settled for a humanoid race Desmond had also never heard of called synades because he just couldn’t have been easy and picked human.

Finally, two hours after Desmond showed up it was both time to start playing and Ezio’s mom showed up and told them to clear the table because dinner was almost ready. There was a little grumbling but they cleared the table and while Maria made Ezio set the table for both the family and his friends Desmond reviewed everyone’s sheets again on the couch. Altair sat next to him and it was nice and he didn’t feel so freaked out now. And while they waited for dinner Desmond also put it into everyone’s head to figure out what they looked like so they could tell each other when they started playing. Leo took that to mean to start drawing _immediately_. Everyone else started looking through their phones for whatever their race and class was to find something.

Unsurprisingly dinner in a house full of Italians was an _ordeal_. Ezio and his younger sister Claudia bickered about something or another and Maria and Giovanni literally just talked about their days and ignored their children except to scold Ezio at some point for being an extra jerk to his sister. Altair just kept to himself and quiet next to Desmond, watching everyone but not saying a lot of anything. Desmond could tell just from looking at him he hated this but was suffering through it because it was his friends. After the adults had finished talking about their days to each other they asked the kids how they were that day and like a fucking psychic Maria leaned over and took Claudia’s fork out of her hand before she stabbed her brother for being a fucking obnoxious teenage boy. Malik and Aveline did a lot of that talking.

Then Maria looked over at Desmond. “And you’re Ezio’s new friend then?” she asked him.

“Uhhhh— I-“ Ezio gave him a ‘you’re not my friend nerd’ look before he could tell Maria one way or another. He wasn’t sure if Maria noticed or not but he was pretty sure she did because Mrs. Auditore seemed like the sort of woman who saw _everything_ her children did. “I’m Aveline’s friend,” he said instead. “And Altair’s boyfriend-

“Boyfriend?” Claudia asked, she was practically accusatory. “You’re gay?”

“Yeah, wanna make something of it squirt?” Altair growled.

“Claudia that isn’t a nice way to say that,” Maria said. Claudia just shrugged but for some reason now she was _also_ giving Desmond the stink eye. What the actual fuck? He hadn’t even talked to this girl ever!

“I think that’s nice. Maybe if Ezio’s around more positive relationships he’ll find one himself,” Maria said and Desmond was drinking some water when she said that. He was caught between a cough and a laugh because Maria had just slaughtered her son in front of everyone. He ended up coughing and Altair patted him on the back a little, concern on his face.

“Mama,” Ezio complained.

“You okay?” Altair asked him softly as he continued to cough and Desmond tuned out the Auditores.

“Uh-huh,” Desmond took a proper sip of water to clear his throat and patted his chest. He leaned over to basically whisper into Altair’s ear, “I wanna be Maria Auditore when I grow up.” Altair fought to not laugh or snort and his face looked all funny to keep it in.

After that dinner was uneventful and everyone helped clean up the table and the kitchen. Then the table was once more surrendered to Desmond’s D&D bullshit. Claudia sat in a chair at the end as Desmond pulled out the stuff for the campaign today. It was just a one-off that could become more if they wanted but he doubted it. He was just using his other campaign really and was using Fort Farrunner because it was easy and gave people a better idea of how a game could go without getting too deep into a story. He set up his barriers and checked his notes and had his phone ready for any rules or spells he’d need to check if his books were inadequate. As he did that he told everyone to either show or explain to the other members what their character looked like.

“Alright, everyone ready then?”

“Yeah, c’mon already,” Malik complained.

“Ava, does he even have all the dice he needs?” Desmond asked, sort of joking.

Aveline still looked over her boyfriend’s dice to Malik’s grumpy face. “He’s missing a six,” she said and that just made Malik look even _more_ grumpy. Desmond rolled a d-six over to Malik who added it to his little pile.

“Anyone have any questions before we start?” Desmond asked. None were forthcoming. “Alright then. So through some way or another, for all your own reasons, you’ve ended up at Fort Farrunner. Some of you are after fame, other fortune, others just want to be part of something or maybe you have your own reasons and coming to Fort Farrunner is a means to an end. The Fort sits on a hill overlooking a moor and to the west you can see a city that you know sits on the coast.

“When you come to the front of the Fort there are all manner of soldiers and mercenaries training in the yard. Some others are gathered around a big board full of slips.” He looked at Leo, “You don’t see a lot of beings your size. Being so small you have to be careful not to get trodden underfoot of the soldiers moving about as you make your way towards the recruitment office. You’ve only made it halfway across the courtyard when a pair of legs runs into you, sending you onto your ass. What do you do?”


	82. Chapter 82

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!

The only sound outside when the play session finally ended was the cicadas. And they were screaming like they’d never screamed before. Altair was so glad to be released from Ezio’s house and was more tired than he’d expected to be. It wasn’t helping that Malik was super excited but thankfully Aveline was taking care of it. Malik walked ahead of him with Aveline towards his car, waving his arms as he talked. Altair was so glad he didn’t have to deal with that now.

He started a little when Desmond showed up next to him with his big bag of magic stuff. “Hey,” he said, all smiles. God Desmond looked so cute when he smiled. That was all Altair could think. “Have fun?”

“That’s a word for it,” Altair groaned and yawned.

“I did,” Leo said, coming up on Desmond’s other side.

“That’s good. Uh… did Ezio? I couldn’t tell,” Desmond said sheepishly.

“I think so, though he won’t say it aloud,” Leo giggled a little. “Though I think I’m more interested in what you were doing than playing,” and then in the same breath went, “Could you teach me to do that?”

“Uhm… uh… Sure?”

“That way you could play if you wanted to instead.”

“You think this is more than a one night thing?” Desmond asked Leo skeptically.

“Oh yeah. Everyone had fun.”

“Even if you and Malik’s character argued the _entire_ time,” Altair groaned.

“All the more reason I shouldn’t play a character,” Leo huffed.

“Well… if you wanna DM I guess I could show you,” Desmond said. They were standing around their cars now. Altair just wanted to go home and lay down and recharge after all the excitement. “But DMs have to be neutral towards players. So no roll fudging or stuff cause uh… whatever you might think of Malik,” he said awkwardly as Altair leaned against the door of his car. He didn’t see Desmond’s bike around which was weird. Was it down at the end of the driveway. Malik and Aveline were gone by now and Altair was just waiting for Desmond to finish talking to Leo so he could get a good night kiss before he left. Honestly he wasn’t really paying attention to their conversation and just rubbed an eye tiredly.

Eventually he needed this conversation to be over or he was going to get even more annoyed. “Leo,” Altair said, interrupting him. “Just get his phone number and text him about this shit. I wanna go home.”

“Then go home,” Leo said, rolling his eyes.

“I’d like to say goodnight to my boyfriend if that’s okay with you.” Leo just made a face. “Not my problem you’re single.” Leo rolled his eyes again and Altair got the impression Desmond was as well. Desmond did give Leo his number and one of his books from his bag and Leo walked to his car, a spring in his step. “I thought he’d never shut up,” Altair grumbled.

“He’s just excited,” Desmond said.

“Yeah I know but I didn’t want to just leave without saying anything,” Altair said.

“Yeah… about that,” Desmond said slowly. Altair rose his brows at him. “It’s waaaaay past my curfew.” Altair was vaguely aware of that that it was eleven or something.

“Are you gonna be grounded?”

“No,” Desmond smirked a little. “I told them I was going to stay over at Clay’s house.”

Altair was actually torn. On one hand, boyfriend wanted to spend the night. On the other Altair had had his fill of people for the day. “Oh,” he said. “Huh. Okay,” he smiled a little and Desmond brightened and kissed him on the lips. That was awesome. “Keep that up,” he said as a sort of threat.

“I will,” Desmond grinned. “Meet you there?”

Altair repressed a yawn. “Sure.”

“Your gramps home?”

“If he is he’s sleeping.”

“You don’t know?”

“He’s in the state, so he could be home or not,” Altair shrugged. “He’ll be out of the house before we have to get up for school though so he shouldn’t see you.”

“Alright,” Desmond tapped his chest. “I just don’t wanna make it uncomfortable for you with him.”

Altair softened. “Thanks, I appreciate it,” he kissed Desmond again. “Where’s your bike, I didn’t see it?”

“I’m borrowing my mom’s car,” Desmond said. “Should I park it somewhere else?”

“Mmmm, maybe? If he’s home yes, if not don’t worry about it. If he’s not home by now he won’t be home.” Desmond nodded to that and Altair got in his car.

Desmond was parked at the end and he followed Altair back to his house. Altair checked the driveway and texted Desmond as he was getting out of the car that his gramps wasn’t home and it was safe to park in the driveway. Desmond brought a little stay over bag of clothes with him from the car, which was a total ‘mom’ car if he’d ever seen one and Altair held the door open for him.

“Do games usually last as long as I’ve seen?” Altair asked Desmond.

“Yeah, kinda,” Desmond shrugged as they walked to Altair’s room.

“Jesus,” Altair rubbed his face.

“Can you swear to Jesus since you’re Muslim?” Desmond asked.

“I mean… Jesus _is_ in the q’ran,” Altair said, giving him a look. “He’s one of Allah’s prophets, but not his son. And I’m around christians all the time, they rub off on me. Not like I’d swear on Muhammad, that’s just silly. What? What’s with the look?”

“Nothing,” Desmond chuckled.

“I’m gonna take a shower and hit the sack. I’m _exhausted_.”

“Can I come?” Desmond asked and Altair sort of imagined him with a dog tail, happily wagging at being shown his favorite toy. Which was, of course, Altair. It was cute.

“If you want,” Altair said. “Just putting it out there not to expect much. I’m not really good for anything when I’m tired.”

“Oh you mean you’re good for things when you’re not?” Desmond teased him as he went into the bathroom. Altair decided not to take the bait and just turned on the shower and took off his clothes. Desmond came in a few minutes later after probably plugging in his phone or something. “Well if nothing else you’re good to look at,” Desmond said when he joined Altair.

“You’re such a sweet talker,” Altair said sarcastically and gave Desmond a coy pinch on the cheek in annoyance.

True to what Altair said he wasn’t really into doing anything tonight. It was almost one and he just wanted to pass out. At the very least Desmond respected that and other than some wet shower kisses didn’t do anything. The shower kisses were pretty nice though Altair had to admit. Really any kisses with Desmond were pretty nice. Eventually they’d cleaned everything there was to clean and got out of the shower. Altair leant Desmond another toothbrush and they brushed their teeth. Once that was done Altair shambled around in his room putting things in order for tomorrow. Desmond just pulled on a pair of underpants and laid out on his bed in what probably was supposed to be seductive but Altair didn’t notice.

“Can I ask you something?” Desmond said as he was pulling on his sleeping pants.

“Hmm?”

“Why does Ezio and his sister apparently hate me?”

“Claudia? Oh she had/has a crush on me,” Altair said with a shrug.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Lots of girls crush on me,” Altair said. “It’s really annoying actually since I just kinda push them onto Ezio. That’s partially why he has so many girlfriends.” He sat on his bed and plugged his phone in, making sure his alarm was set for school tomorrow. “But he doesn’t hate you. Not really,” Altair yawned and laid down, turning off the lamp on the bedside table. “He hates the concept of me having a boyfriend because it represents me lying to him for like ten years about being gay,” he shrugged. “So he doesn’t hate _you_ -

“He would just hate any boyfriend you’d have had,” Desmond sighed. Altair nodded. “That’s really petty.”

“Never said he wasn’t,” Altair said and grunted when Desmond moved over to snuggle up against him. Oh this was nice. He liked this a lot. “He’s not bad though,” he promised. “Just kinda… Italian,” and that made Desmond chuckle. Altair yawned and hummed happily when Desmond wrapped an arm around his chest. This needed to happen more. Just cuddling with his boyfriend. It was pretty much the best thing ever.

“I guess,” Desmond said. “Well, goodnight.”

“Don’t sound so moody we aren’t gonna do anything. It’s like one am. If you wanted to do something you shouldn’t have let the game go on for so long.”

“If I recall it went on so long because Ezio had to fucking argue with me about everything he did,” Desmond groaned. “Maybe it’d be better if Leo was DM. Ezio doesn’t seem the type to argue with Leo.”

“Not even a little,” Altair agreed tiredly. “Now shhh,” he said softly. He turned his head so it was against Desmond’s hair and closed his eyes. He was asleep before Desmond was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story consider leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.


	83. Chapter 83

Desmond hated Altair’s stupid phone and his alarm that went off way too early for Desmond. He snatched it and turned it off but too late. Altair was awake. He yawned against Desmond’s neck and sat up slowly. Then he leaned down and pressed a few kisses against Desmond’s neck and jaw and that felt really good but Desmond wasn’t getting up. He fucking wasn’t. Altair got up super early but that didn’t mean Desmond had to. School wasn’t for an hour and a half and he didn’t care. He was staying in fucking bed.

“Guess I’m showering by myself this morning huh?” Altair asked his lips brushing the cusp of Desmond’s ear.

“Sleeping,” Desmond grumbled.

“Heh, fine,” he could feel the slight smile on Altair’s lips against his skin. Altair kissed his neck again before getting out of bed.

Desmond went back to sleep almost immediately. His own phone was set for when he woke up on another hour and he was going to milk it. Altair’s bed was also super comfy and when Altair wasn’t in it he could spread out and sleep in whatever position he wanted to. When his alarm went off an hour later he still grumbled and complained before sitting up and rubbing his face. He stumbled into the bathroom to piss, wash his face, and brush his teeth before going to look for Altair. He knew Altair probably had breakfast and Desmond wanted breakfast.

True to form Altair was in the kitchen. “What the fuck?” Altair asked when he saw Desmond.

“What?” Desmond said tiredly.

“Do you like have some sort of weird food sense or something cause I’m literally just finishing now?”

“No. I’m just amazing,” Desmond grinned a cheeky grin.

“Pft, yeah. That’s a word for it,” Altair said with a slight roll of his eyes.

Desmond sat at the bar as Altair bent over to pull something out of the oven. Man Altair’s ass was amazing. Desmond could stare at it all day. “What’s for breakfast?”

“I made quiche-

“Isn’t that hard?”

“It’s just like making an omelet, only with a pie crust. It’s really pretty easy,” Altair said and set the pyrex dish on the stove.

“What’s in it?”

“Spinach, onions, peppers, chicken sausage, and mushrooms.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of stuff. No bacon?”

“Didn’t we go over this before?”

“Go over what before?” Desmond didn’t know why Altair was giving him an annoyed look.

“I don’t eat pork.”

“I literally just woke up, okay,” Desmond whined. “I forgot, I’m sorry.” Altair rolled his eyes but Desmond knew he wasn’t actually mad. Altair let the quiche cool a minute and put a cup of coffee in front of Desmond. “Can I have some milk and sugar, please?” he asked. Altair gave him some milk and he made it the way he liked it. Then Altair put food in front of him. “This smells amazing,” he said before even taking a bite.

“Desmond, you think everything smells amazing,” Altair said as he sat next to him on the bar.

“I mean I can’t help it you cook things that are amazing,” Desmond said and kissed Altair on the cheek. “And it tastes amazing too,” Desmond said once he’d had a mouthful.

“You’re too nice,” Altair said, hunching a little at the praise despite enjoying it.

“I mean it,” Desmond said. He took a sip of his coffee and Altair’s only reply was to let their knees touch. They ate in silence and it was fine.

Desmond insisted on cleaning up. Not that there was a lot to clean up since Altair cleaned as he went but what there was to clean Desmond wanted to do. It was only fair. Altair had cooked so Desmond would clean up. As he was looking for plastic wrap to put over the pyrex before it went in the fridge Altair said, “You ever skip school?”

“I try not to,” Desmond grimaced. “Older brother skipped a lot. My parents don’t like it.”

“You got that thing where they call them when you do?”

“I mean I assume so? I don’t think my parents even know where our house phone is though. Why?”

“Wanna skip?” Altair asked with a little grin.

“And do what?” Desmond asked slowly. “Also I have to work tonight,” he added.

“We could go out, or hang here. I just don’t wanna go to school,” Altair sighed.

“But I never see you skip,” Desmond said.

“I skip sometimes,” Altair shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve had perfect attendance since I started high school.”

“Doesn’t your grandpa care?”

“Not really. Well , e does but he also knows American schools suck and sometimes you just gotta say fuck it and not go. He only gets up about it if I skip too many days in a row and he’ll always write me a note.”

“Wish my parents were that understanding.”

“But you said the school call goes to your house phone, which your parents don’t use?”

“Yeah,” Desmond said slowly. He’d finished up by now and was leaning against the other side of the counter from Altair. “I dunno. Unlike you I _do_ have perfect attendance.”

“Well I’m not going to school today. So you wanna skip with me?”

“If you were gonna skip why did you wake up so damn early?” Desmond complained.

“I just decided when you came out for breakfast,” Altair said. “And that I’d rather spend the day with you then at school.”

“Uhg. That’s so cute and sweet I might throw up,” Desmond said and that made Altair grin. “I dunno.” He fished his phone out of his pocket to check the time. He needed to change his clothes and get going if he wanted to make it to school on time. “What do you wanna do?”

“We could find some fun, or trouble,” Altair said. “Or just stay here and do nothing.”

“Hmmm.”

“You can go if you want. I’m not gonna be upset, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Altair said.

Desmond frowned in thought. Whatever was gonna happen he’d have to make up his mind quick or he wasn’t going to get to school on time anyway. Altair was just sitting there, looking pretty indifferent to whatever Desmond was going to do. Desmond didn’t love school but he liked going to see his friends and his boyfriend when he went. But his boyfriend wasn’t going to _be_ there today so really did he want to see his friends more than his boyfriend?

When he said it like that it was a no brainer. “Nah. You think I wanna go to fucking school?” Desmond said sarcastically. “So what do you wanna do since we’re playing hooky?”

“Well do you wanna go out, or stay in?” Altair asked.

“Hmmm. We could go out later but your bed is _really_ comfortable. I think we should enjoy it some more while it’s still early.”

Altair smiled a little and got up from the counter. “Sounds like a good idea,” he said and went around to Desmond’s side. Desmond’s phone beeped. “Why does it always have the _worst_ timing I swear to god I’m just going to put it on vibrate whenever you’re here,” Altair jokingly threatened.

“It’s my dad, chill,” Desmond said. “He just wants to make sure I went to school,” he snorted. “Yeah dad, totally going to school,” he texted almost exactly that.

“Kaczmarek skip?”

“Sometimes. Or just doesn’t show up at school because of his dad. He’s got a weird possessive streak to him sometimes after his wife died. Get’s paranoid Clay’s gonna end up dead or something. It’s really ridiculous but whatever,” Desmond shrugged.

“That’s… weird,” Altair said slowly.

“Yeah. Also he just… likes to check up on me,” Desmond sighed. He hated that. He wished his parents would just let him go over to a friend’s house and not think he was lying to them. Even though… he was lying to them. So he guessed they had every right to check up on him. All the more reason he didn’t want them to know about Altair quite yet. He’d never ever ever be able to spend the night over anyone’s house if they knew. They wouldn’t care Desmond had a boyfriend, they just knew exactly what Desmond would probably do over there and the both of them frowned at the fact that all three of their sons were so sexually active. Except Desmond. Cause he hadn’t had a boyfriend and the one he had had been a secret. His dad just joked that he wasn’t surprised cause Desmond was such a nerd and he wasn’t wrong for the most part.

“Well he’s satisfied now hmm?” Altair asked.

“Yeah. He trusts me so we’re cool,” Desmond said brightly. He smiled when Altair pulled him away from the kitchen counter back to his room.

“So this bed enjoying. What’d you have in mind?” Altair asked.

“I’m going back to sleep,” Desmond said and Altair laughed.

Altair closed the door behind them and Desmond started when he came up behind Desmond and ran his hand up under his shirt. “You sure?” he asked and kissed the side of Desmond’s neck. “Cause you look so cute when you’re sleeping I almost couldn’t help myself this morning.”

Desmond swallowed as Altair pressed up against his back. “Aaaaah— uh…”

“What? Cat got your tongue?” Altair said into his ear and nibbled on it. Desmond felt his insides flutter into butterflies in an instant. “Or was that me?” and he turned Desmond’s head so he could kiss him on the mouth with a little bit of tongue. Desmond was totally stupid and didn’t even know how to form words.

“Please tell me you just wanted to skip school to fool around,” Desmond said once he could get his mouth around a sentence.

“Maybe a little,” Altair said with a smirk and kissed his neck again. His hand was still up Desmond’s shirt, the other on his hip.

“Well I’m getting a hard on. You gonna do something about it?” Desmond asked.

“I could,” Altair nuzzled his neck. Desmond really just wanted to sit down cause his knees felt weak because his boyfriend was the worst and best thing ever. In fact if he didn’t sit down he was just gonna crumple and that would just make Altair freak out so he stepped away from Altair and went and sat on his bed. Altair followed after him and leaned down to kiss him sweetly.

“You’re good at that,” Desmond said softly.

“Mouth of many talents,” Altair smirked.

“Oh I am _well_ aware of how talented your mouth is,” Desmond said. Altair kissed him again on the lips and then around his face, along his jaw, and down his neck. Then Altair pulled his shirt from last night off and kissed his way down Desmond’s torso.

It was really surreal when Altair was finally kneeling between his knees. Not even six months ago he wouldn’t have even _dreamed_ that a hot, popular, jock would be even remotely into him. It just wasn’t a thing he would think about because it was ridiculous. Like _he_ could ever get a guy as awesome as Altair to like him. It was literally the plot of a generic young adult novel or some gay Hallmark movie. Awkward geek with weird friends somehow ends up with local heartthrob who also happened to be rich and was a star football player. Yeah right that was a real thing that really happened. Yet, here he was, practically excited to suck Desmond’s dick. How fucking surreal was that? It was really nice to have a boyfriend who was as excited to be with you as you were to be with them.

That thought hit weirdly hard. Cause he’d really liked Alex, a lot and always had been happy to see him. Alex always treated him like a mild inconvenience.

“You okay?” Altair asked him snapping Desmond out of that thought.

“Hmm?”

“You got a weird look on your face. Should I stop?”

Desmond’s heart melted. “No,” he said. “You’re just really sweet, that’s all.” Altair smiled against his lips when Desmond leaned down to kiss him. Man, not just a boyfriend who liked being with you, but actually cared if you were still into it or not. Desmond was going to get spoiled. Altair put his hand on the back of his neck, keeping him down there until he protested. “That kinda hurts my neck though,” he grimaced and sat back up.

“Sorry,” Altair said, still smiling at him.

“Yeah, sure you are,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“I’ll make it up to you, huh?” Altair smirked and Desmond bit his lower lip hard when Altair nuzzled against his crotch.

“For the record. You really know how to apologize.” Altair snorted and just shook his head like he couldn’t believe Desmond. “I’m all ears.”

“That’s supposed to be _my_ line,” Altair said and Desmond blushed. Red crept down his neck when Altair pulled him out of his pajama pants. He looked at Desmond’s dick, then up at him. “So gimme something to listen to, eh?” he teased with a shit eating smirk and Desmond somehow turned even _more_ red. He nodded stiffly and that amused Altair. At the very least Desmond didn’t disappoint when Altair finally wrapped his lips around the head of Desmond’s cock.

Best reason to skip school ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I am leaving it like that. Yes. I am evil >:3c
> 
> If you like what you read think about leaving a comment


	84. Chapter 84

Desmond got out of work to a whole slew of texts. He usually kept his phone in his backpack since it was distracting during work so when he looked at it he saw his phone had blown way the fuck up in the past few hours. He had texts from Clay, Altair, his dad, Duncan, and oddly enough, Leo. “What the fuck happened guys?” he asked his phone as he sat on his motorcycle. He didn’t clip the helmet on right away so he could read the texts. He checked his dad’s first in case it was important.

‘Mom and I are going into town tonight. Will be out late.’ That was kinda weird. They hadn’t mentioned it when Desmond had gone home to get ready for work after spending all day playing hooky with Altair.

He sent a quick, ‘k’ ‘Just got out of work’ back to his dad and looked at his other messages.

The ones from Altair were, predictably, asking if he wanted to come back over to his place for the night. Desmond put that one away for the moment and looked at Clay’s. ‘Yo’ ‘Bro. We’re doing el Seb tomorrow for lunch’ ‘You’re coming’ ‘We’re having an intervention for a jackass’. He frowned a little. Not that he didn’t like going out to eat he’d wanted to hang out with Altair more tomorrow. But the idea of having an intervention was amusing. Desmond didn’t know who it was for though. Shaun maybe? He was baseline jackass. Maybe Clay and Lucy had decided they were fed up with Shaun and Rebecca’s gross, constant, PDA.

‘What time?’

He checked his brother’s next and by now he was sweating a little in his leather jacket in the eighty-five degree February weather. ‘Not because I care cause you do you. But Jaimie wanted to know if you’re still fucking with that hotty you showed us at Christmas?’ ‘Or if you got wise’.

Desmond rolled his eyes. Yeah. Sure. _Jaimie_ wanted to know. Duncan was a busybody enough to want to know for himself. He’d answer that text later. Like tomorrow. Nothing like making Duncan have to wait for a question he desperately wanted the answer to to tell him to fuck off. As he stewed in that satisfaction of it Clay texted him back with the time for lunch.

Last he looked at Leo’s and was both surprised and amused by the sheer quantity of exclamation marks Leo used in his texts. ‘Desmond it’s Leo!’ ‘I finished reading the book you gave me. It was really interesting!!’ ‘I was wondering if we could hang out?? I wanted to ask you questions about it?’ ‘I figure if it continues I could do it so you and Altair could play together? Instead of him awkwardly flirting with your NPCs! lolololols’. That one made Desmond laugh out loud. Leo did have a point though. ‘I’ve got a project to work on on Saturday but I have Sunday if that’s good with you?’ ‘Let me know okay?!’ Desmond needed to think on that if he wanted to potentially spend his entire Sunday with Leo. The way Leo sounded he wanted an in-depth explanation of things and game mechanics and Desmond could easily be there for _hours_.

Finally, he went over Altair’s texts again. Altair had literally started texting him as soon as his shift started. ‘Miss you already’ ‘That lame?’ ‘Yeah I think that’s lame’ ‘Oops’ ‘When do you get out?’ ‘I’m guessing pretty late if you aren’t answering?’ ‘It’s really boring over here’ ‘If you wanna you should come back over after work’ ‘I’d make you food if you wanted’ ‘or other stuff if you don’t want food ;)’. Desmond covered his face a little. His boyfriend was both the cutest thing ever and so fucking lame. Also, they’d had sex like six times that day he didn’t know how Altair wanted more. Desmond had shown up at work _exhausted_ and that had been with naps in between. Altair had sucked the life out of him _literally_. Not that he exactly _minded_ because it was awesome to have a boyfriend who loved giving head and double didn’t mind because Altair was really good at it too. Desmond shifted on his motorcycle a little.

‘I dunno. I’ll see how I feel when I get home’, he sent back to Altair.

Altair texted back basically immediately. ‘kk!’

What a lovable dork.

Desmond started his bike up and drove home. He took a shower and laid down on his bed with a tired sigh. He really didn’t want to get up and go to Altair’s. He contemplated that since he also wanted to see Altair again. He took out his phone. ‘Can I have someone spend the night?’ he texted his dad. While he waited for his dad to reply he turned on the TV and tuned it to A&E because Hoarders was on and Desmond loved watching these disasters.

Altair must have gotten impatient because he texted him again. ‘So?’

‘I’m waiting for approval if I can have a sleepover. Wait.’

‘!!!!!’

Desmond chuckled to himself and waited for his dad to text him back. Half an hour passed before his phone dinged. ‘Who?’

‘One of my friends’

‘Which one?’

‘My new one. Altair. He was over for D&D’

‘Sure’

‘Sweet’

‘Just don’t make the house a mess and when your mother and I get home keep it down’

‘I will. When you gonna be home?’

‘Past midnight’

‘Lols we’ll probably be asleep’

‘Okay’

Desmond immediately texted Altair, ‘Sleepover was approved.’

‘I’ll be over in a few’

‘I’m gonna unlock the front door, so just come in. Lock it when you come in’

‘kk’

Desmond dragged himself out of bed with a groan, his legs and feet still hurt from waiting tables and went to unlock the front door. Then he shuffled back to his room and collapsed on the bed again in just his underwear and a shirt. He watched Hoarders and dozed a little. Not really sleeping but he was tired enough to just close his eyes. He woke when someone put a knee on the bed. “You look tired,” Altair said and all Desmond could really make out of him was his amused, smiling, mouth.

“I know you’re a rich boy but some of us have to actually _work_ for a living,” Desmond yawned.

“You look cute sleepy,” Altair said and leaned down to kiss him a little. Desmond smiled when he did that.

“I look cute all the time,” he mumbled.

Altair laughed. “I mean… I’m not gonna argue with that.”

“You lock the front door?”

“Yeah. Course I did,” Altair said and nuzzled against Desmond’s neck. Altair smelled good, as always. There was also the lingering smell of sweat and sex on his skin that Desmond liked too. He kissed Desmond’s neck and up behind his ear sweetly and Desmond hummed happily. “You too tired to fool around?”

“I dunno,” Desmond said. “You make a _really_ good argument for me to not be too tired.”

“We don’t have to if you don’t wanna.” Desmond’s chest felt all warm and giddy when Altair said that. God his boyfriend was just so _good_.

“I’ll think about it. I _was_ watching human disasters before you showed up.”

“Ah, yeah. Totally watching and now sleeping like a lil baby,” Altair teased him.

“I was,” Desmond insisted. He looked at the TV. Hoarders was over. It was something else. Something much less interesting. “Well, I was. It ended.” Altair got off him so take off some of his clothes. Desmond was distracted immediately when Altair took off his shirt and undid his belt. “Not that I didn’t find a better show, though,” Desmond said. Altair chuckled and with more confidence and seductiveness than Desmond thought Altair had he removed his jeans slowly. Very deliberately undoing the button and zipper so he was just in his boxer briefs. Desmond felt his face heat up watching. “That’s not fair,” Desmond protested.

“I’m sorry, you’re right it isn’t,” Altair said and was further insufferable by flexing. Desmond groaned and covered his face with his pillow. He felt Altair climb back on top of him and push the pillow away to lay kisses on his face and mouth.

“You’re hella needy today huh?” Desmond asked. Altair usually wasn’t this sexually charged and he wasn’t complaining, he was just commenting.

“Tends to happen when you’re in the closet for a while and then get a really amazing boyfriend,” Altair said and rubbed their noses together.

“Ah. Lots of pent up sexual frustrations then huh?”

“In general, yeah. About you? You have _no_ idea.” As he said that he changed position so he could pull Desmond’s legs around his waist. “Tell me if I need to stop,” he added.

“I mean if I don’t have to do anything you can do whatever you want,” Desmond said and Altair snorted. “I’ll just lay here looking cute if that’s cool with you.”

“Not gonna complain,” Altair said.

They ended up not having sex but there was quite a bit of fondling and getting off. Desmond had to take his shirt off when they were done because it had more than a few cum stains on it now and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to save or just throw it away because it was seriously dirty now. He just dropped it on the floor to deal with in the morning and Altair laid down next to him, yanking the covers up and wedging himself between Desmond and the wall so he could better snuggle against him.

“You have work tomorrow too?” Altair asked him.

“Yeah. Tomorrow night.”

“What do you wanna do tomorrow?”

“I’m going to lunch with my friends. I don’t think you’re invited. But we could just hang out and play video games if you wanted.”

“Okay. That sounds nice,” Altair nuzzled his neck and squeezed him a little. “I’ll make breakfast? Your kitchen is useable.”

“ _So sorry_ my house has a shitty kitchen,” Desmond said in a loud, fake annoyed, voice. “I’ll tell the US military to work on that.” Altair snorted into his shoulder.

“It’s fine,” Altair chuckled. “It’s cute, like you.”

“Man you are just laying it on _so_ thick tonight,” Desmond said, exasperated.

“I mean… I didn’t lay it on thick. I could if you wanted me to.”

Desmond turned his head again, his face bright red. “You’re the worst,” he said into his pillow and Altair just laughed. “Yes, you’re _so_ funny.” Altair’s response was to kiss his neck sweetly.

Altair snuggled up behind him and they watched some more of whatever the hell was on, Desmond switching the station a few times to find something good to watch. They fell asleep spooning and it was basically the best thing ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I just had a REALLY terrible thought about what I could do to Desmond since I know some people have been like ‘what is gonna happen now???’ and want more drama and I’m not sure if I wanna go through with it????
> 
> Lemmie know if you want the terrible thing to happen to Desmond and I’ll do it. It won’t involve any bodily harm to Desmond but it’ll still be really awful.


	85. Chapter 85

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lols ya’ll really don’t want me to hurt Desmond (at least not too badly), or make them break up. Ya’ll _REALLY_ didn’t want me to make them break up. So I'm not gonna do the thing as hard as I thought about doing it. STILL GONNA DO THE THING but not as much as I originally planned. So still a bad thing, but it isn't gonna be as bad as I planned.
> 
> You'll know it when it shows up too. But it won't be for a lil while ;)
> 
> And for people who've been asking; yes, Connor will be coming back at some point. Some point soonish? in story time but will be a few months for ya'll cause of update schedule. But he won't be mad forever ouo b

When Desmond got up the next morning he was way too warm. Mainly because Altair had decided he made an excellent body pillow and was now laying on top of him. He whined in annoyance until Altair woke up because of the annoying noise. “Wut?” Altair grumbled.

“Get off. You’re hot.”

“That’s a compliment, not a complaint,” Altair said and didn’t do what Desmond wanted. Instead, he just snuggled closer.

“Uuuuuhg! You’re warm, get off,” Desmond groused. This time Altair chuckled and rolled into the wall, off him. Desmond got out of bed to get out of the heat. He checked the time it was almost nine. With that, he went and did his morning bathroom things. By the time he got back Altair was up, sitting in his bed, shirtless, and looked very near naked.

“Your parents don’t check on you?” Altair asked.

“I’m sure they did when they got home,” Desmond said and sat on the bed.

“So… they’re so used to you having dudes in your bed they think nothing of it?”

“The only guy who sleeps over a lot is Clay, and yeah, we usually share. It’s _not_ like that either so don’t get that look on your face,” Desmond told him sternly. “They probably don’t think it’s weird at this point. If they knew you were my,” he dropped his voice as he said the next bit, “boyfriend then they’d have a problem with it.”

“Do your parents not think you’d get a boyfriend?”

“Not really. They think I’m too quiet and shy-

“I would never use either of those words to describe you.”

“I know right? Parents think weird things.”

“They home?”

“Probably,” Desmond shrugged.

“Would your mom get mad if I used her kitchen?”

“Hell no.”

“Okay, good.” Altair got out of the bed and Desmond definitely stared at his ass, and his back, and his crotch, and his everything. Then he got naked and Desmond _really_ stared. “Dude, not the first time you’ve seen it. Chill out.”

“I appreciate it every time, though,” Desmond protested even as Altair got dressed in new clothes out of the backpack he’d brought. “Also don’t make a big breakfast? I’m going out to lunch at el Siboney and don’t wanna be stuffed.”

“Heh. Alright,” Altair said and tugged his shirt right. “Maybe you should be dressed when you come out and your parents don’t ask why you’re only in boxers around your ‘friend’.”

“Oh. Good call,” Desmond agreed. Desmond was aware of the fact that Altair didn’t leave when he grabbed some clothes and unlike Altair who didn’t even blush Desmond definitely did when his boyfriend watched him get dressed.

“Do you own a solid colored shirt?”

“What? What sort of question is that?”

“Like everything you own has a graphic on it. Or a pattern. I think the only time I’ve seen you wear a solid color was when you wore my shirt to school by accident.”

Desmond gave him a look. “How do you _know that_?”

“Cause I’m always looking at you cause I like you?”

There was a beat of silence. “So I was gonna be annoyed cause that’s borderline creepy behavior but you turned it around.” Altair laughed. They left the room and Desmond showed Altair where everything was. His parents weren’t home either. They’d probably gone to the store or gotten drunk enough to just spend the night in town so they didn’t drive home drunk. Altair rummaged around in the fridge and the cupboards for a while, looking for things. Eventually he pulled some ingredients together. “I thought you didn’t do pork,” Desmond said when Altair chopped some bacon into pieces.

“I don’t. But I know you like bacon,” was all Altair said. Desmond smiled at him. “And I can touch it. I just can’t eat it.”

“Oh. I honestly don’t know anything about Islam,” Desmond admitted. “Or really any religion. My family is atheist as all get out.”

“Really? Expected someone from South Dakota to be religious.”

“Well my dad was raised Christian but he says God’s bullshit and you figure that out in the Navy real quick.”

“Heh,” Altair dumped the chopped bacon into a pan to cook. “Your dad and my gramps would get along. He says the same thing about Allah. Still prays five times a day when he can but says Allah’s bullshit anyway.”

“That seems… counterproductive.”

“Yeah. My gramps is weird. I think he just likes the ceremony and routine of the thing more than anything and that he can cuss Allah out when things go wrong.”

“So I take it you guys don’t go to… uh… Islam church?”

“You mean a mosque? No, not really,” Altair shrugged. “It’s kinda out of the way at Southard and Whitehead so we don’t get down there a lot. Mainly we just pray at home when we do.”

“Oh… I didn’t even know there was one in Key West.”

“Pft. Yeah. _One_ ,” Altair said.

Desmond watched Altair for a few minutes. As the bacon cooked he pulled out another, bacon free, pan out and drizzled olive oil into it. He tossed mushrooms, a few scraps of onion, and slivers of bell pepper that had been in the fridge way too long into both pans to cook, throwing the salt, pepper, and three other seasoning Desmond didn’t see the name of on top of them stirring them around. Altair let the veggies cook even as he fished the finished bacon out and put some of his mom’s ultra high fiber wheat bread into the toaster oven.

“You’re not super religious, right?” Desmond asked Altair as he sautéed the vegetables.

“Not really.” Desmond was too shy to ask. “Why? You curious?”

“You just don’t seem religious,” Desmond admitted. “Like I’m the stereotypical dumb American over here about Muslims. It didn’t even cross my mind you were one till you said you didn’t eat pork.”

“I’m Muslim when I wanna be,” Altair shrugged. “Like how you aren’t Christian but celebrate Christian holidays? Kinda like that.”

“You said your gramps prays. Do you?”

“Sometimes,” Altair shrugged again.

“This isn’t weird for me to ask right? Like you’re cool if I’m dumb and ask questions?”

“Ah… yeah, kinda.”

“I’ve stayed over your house a lot. How come I never see you pray?”

“I don’t do it a lot. Just when I feel like it. I used to pray more but…

“But?”

“You’re gonna laugh.”

“I won’t.”

“No, you will cause it’s funny.”

“Oh.”

“I prayed more before we started going out. Prayed you’d stop being _so stupid_ and realize I liked you so I didn’t have to nut up and ask you out myself.” Desmond positively giggled. “See, told you you’d laugh,” Altair said with a bit of a smile.

“So basically you prayed ‘Allah give me a boyfriend’.”

“Something like that,” Altair said and cracked some eggs into a bowl with some milk. He beat them and then poured half of the eggs into each pan, also adding the bacon to the pan with the vegetables cooked in the bacon grease. “Worked.”

“Pfffft. Yeah. Sure. And now that Allah came through you don’t anymore?”

“Basically.”

“Yeah, that sounds about the same way I do. I used to, kinda sarcastically, tell God to give me a boyfriend too.”

“Match made in heaven then,” Altair said and while he was smirking Desmond sensed he was sort of serious. He rubbed the side of his face hoping he wasn’t blushing. Altair finished the scrambled eggs and put them on separate plates along with two slices of toast. Looking at it made Desmond’s stomach growl hungrily. “You have any hot sauce around here? Or you wanna grab the utensils.”

“Oh! Yeah sure, sorry,” Desmond hopped to and got forks and knives and butter from the fridge for the toast and then stood in the fridge door looking at his mom’s mini collection of hot sauce. “You want hot, really hot, or melt your face off hot?” Desmond called to Altair who was sitting at the table.

“Just hot.”

“Kay,” Desmond grabbed two sauces and joined Altair at the table. “How the hell do you even make scrambled eggs look better than anything I could ever make? What the fuck,” Desmond jokingly complained as he sat. He handed Altair the utensils and put the butter and hot sauce down.

“Because I’m awesome,” Altair said smugly.

Desmond just scoffed. “Oh. Just remembered something,” he whipped out his phone. “Smile for the camera.”

“What? Ahg,” Altair immediately covered his face.

“C’monnnn,” Desmond cooed. “You’re too pretty to not like having your picture taken.”

“I don’t like surprise pictures,” Altair protested.

“Of yourself,” Desmond said.

“Hmm?” Altair peaked out from behind his fingers.

“I know you have pictures of me on your phone. Now c’mon, I want a good picture of you don’t be a big baby.” Altair didn’t move for a moment. Then he made a face and lowered his hand. “Don’t look so grumpy.”

“I am grumpy.”

“I’m gonna use it for my phone background. Don’t look so grumpy,” Desmond scolded him.

“Desmonnnnd,” he complained. Desmond got up and yanked Altair’s chair out and straddled him. “Uh—

Desmond switched the way the camera faced on his phone and held it out. “Look happy. You have a cute boy in your lap,” he told Altair. Altair was caught off guard by that enough to look amused and he forgot all about the photo in an instant when Desmond kissed him on the cheek. Such a picky dude who was so easy to please. Desmond got off his lap. “Looks good,” he said, looking at the picture which was Altair smiling while Desmond kissed him on the cheek. He did make it his phone background like he said but as he sat down again to finish breakfast he also texted the picture to Duncan along with ‘tell JAMIE we’re dating now’.

“So when are you going to lunch with your friends?” Altair asked.

“Oneish,” Desmond said.

“Wanna come over after?”

“I have homework I gotta do.”

“We could do homework,” Altair said quickly.

“I’ll think about it. You’re _really_ distracting and I need to focus on the English assignment I have.”

“Reading?”

“No. It’s an essay,” Desmond groaned.

“I could help you. If you wanted,” Altair added quickly.

“Would you? Or would it turn into helping me get out of my clothes?”

“I mean…” Altair looked away guiltily.

“I’ll think about it. I also have work so you might have to jerk off by yourself.”

“I hate that. I like it when you do it,” Altair said and Desmond flushed. At least Altair had the decency to get a little red-faced himself.

They finished their breakfast and Desmond cleaned up the kitchen. Then they went back to Desmond’s room and Altair watched Desmond play video games while also scrolling through his phone doing whatever he was doing. Around twelve thirty Clay bombarded him with texts reminding him they were meeting at el Siboney at one and to not be late. “Uhhhg.”

“Is he always like that?” Altair asked after Desmond told him what it was.

“Yes.”

“Seems like a lot of trouble.”

“It is,” Desmond groaned and got up. “But I do have to get going, and so do you.”

“Alright. You sure I can’t come?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Desmond said.

“Alright,” Altair said but wasn’t happy about it.

Altair got his things together and Desmond delayed to the very last moment he could before getting them both out of the house by wasting time kissing his boyfriend. Desmond grabbed his helmet from the kitchen counter on the way out and locked the door behind him. His parents still weren’t home and he hadn’t gotten a text saying where they were which was weird. He did send his mom a text saying he was going out lunch at the very least and would be back later to do chores and homework. “Text me if you’re gonna come over,” Altair said, standing in the open door of his Mercedes.

“I will. If I finish my homework and have time before work,” he said.

“Okay.” With that Altair got into his car. Desmond got on his bike and as he turned it on Altair rolled the window down. “You should sit on me like that,” he called over the sound of the motorcycle engine.

Desmond fumbled with the clip of the helmet. “Go home, Altair!” he yelled. Laughing, Altair rolled up the window and drove off. “God what a fucking-“ he didn’t even have an end to it. His boyfriend was just the best and worst. He finished with his helmet, made sure he was set to go, and drove off towards the restaurant for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like what you read consider leaving a comment, I really appreciate it.


	86. Chapter 86

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I became Overwatch trash last month so there were no updates. I don’t feel sorry about it yolo

The host showed Desmond into the semi busy restaurant to where his friends were. El Sib was always busy in one way or another but it was more a dinner place than lunch. Desmond sat down and chugged the ice water out of the little hard plastic cup they gave you. “You’re late,” Clay said.

“Traffic,” Desmond lied, it had totally been kissing Altair.

“Even Shaun was here before you,” Clay said.

Desmond looked at the table. It was Clay, Lucy, Shaun, and Rebecca. “I’m like,” he checked his phone, “exactly two minutes late. Chill out,” Desmond huffed. “So, we’re having an intervention? For who?”

“For you,” Shaun said.

“Me? What? Why?”

Before they could answer a waitress came by. Everyone ordered drinks and food in one go. When she was gone Clay said, “Yes, you.”

“What? What? What!?” Desmond was just in shock more than anything. “What do _I_ need an intervention about?”

“Dude, you haven’t hung out with any of us in like two weeks,” Clay said.

“Yeah. Every time we ask if you wanna come do something you say no,” Rebecca piped in. “And we hardly play games together anymore.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Altair and his friends the entire time except for club day,” Clay said.

“I don’t hang out with Altair’s friends,” Desmond protested. He also immediately thought about Leo wanting to talk his ear off about DMing D&D.

“Well then Altair, whatever.”

“I don’t… what?”

“We’re your friends,” Lucy said. “And it feels like we never see you outside of school.”

“Sorry? I’m just busy-

“No you aren’t,” Clay said. “You’re not so busy you don’t go see Altair all the god damn time.”

“He’s my boyfriend-

“And we’re your friends,” Clay scowled at him. “Bros before hoes and we both know; Altair’s a hoe.”

“He is not,” Desmond protested but it was weak. Altair _was_ kinda a hoe before he’d started doing regular things with Desmond. He’d admitted as much that Desmond wasn’t his first one night stand by far.

“He is so a hoe,” Clay said firmly.

“What Clay is _trying_ to say,” Lucy butted in and shoved Clay a little, “is that it’s great you have a boyfriend but we wanna hang out with you too.”

“We’re feeling a little neglected, mate,” Shaun said.

Desmond stared at the four of them. “Is this seriously real life right now? Am I being punk’d right now?” he looked around to make sure.

Rebecca laughed a little. “It’s real,” Clay said. Of the four of them he looked the most annoyed. “And kinda shitty you just fucked off once you got a boyfriend.”

“I mean…” Desmond drank his water to buy some time. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”

“No shit,” Shaun said.

“Sorry,” Desmond said. “I was just tired of being a third wheel to _two_ relationships so I just wanted mine for a little while.”

“That’s fine. But bro. I texted you at least twice a week if you wanted to come hang out and you said no cause? Why? I have no idea.”

“And you’re never online for pub stomping,” Rebecca said.

“And you’ve been answering my questions about the campaign in a really short, unhelpful, way,” Shaun said.

“Okay okay. I get it,” Desmond said, holding up a hand before they could keep piling on. As he said that their food came. “I’ll try and be more available.”

“Good. That’s all we ask really. We miss hanging out with you,” Lucy said.

“Speaking of,” Clay was now no longer annoyed. He was himself again. “We’re going to the beach after this. Wanna come?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Clay gave him a look.

“I have chores and homework,” Desmond rolled his eyes. “And then I have work tonight. So if you’d like to come over and do homework with me feel free but I am busy.”

“You mean busy with real things and not just sucking Altair’s face off?” Rebecca teased him.

“You have _no_ room to talk about face sucking,” Desmond said and pointed with his fork in Rebecca’s direction. “Leaves nothing to the imagination,” Rebecca flushed a little. “Also if you guys wanna hang out more it’s gotta be cool if Altair hangs out too.”

“No one said he couldn’t,” Lucy said.

“Except you guys making it fucking _weird_ when he showed up at lunch before that stopped happening. Or when you were petty mad I was dating him and not Connor,” he huffed.

“He’s cool in my book,” Rebecca said. “He bought us all pizza for club. He should come more often; with food,” she said.

“He would,” Desmond said. “Like he wants you guys to like him. He’s just… awkward-

“Bullshit. He’s a jock,” Clay protested.

“No, dude. He’s _super_ awkward.” Then he told them about the tutoring situation and why Altair had even been in it.

“You’re shitting me,” Shaun said, fork halfway to his mouth before it just hung open.

“I am not,” Desmond said.

“That’s kinda cute,” Rebecca said.

“No, it isn’t. It’s really cute,” Lucy said and that made Rebecca giggle.

“But yeah. He’s super awkward, he just _acts_ cool and aloof.”

“What a loser,” Clay said.

“Yeah, that too,” Desmond said which made Clay cough from trying to laugh and swallow at the same time. Lucy patted his back firmly and he made a motion that he was fine before taking a sip of water. “But really, if food got on your good side, he’d totally do that.”

“Ah, so that’s how he showed he was good boyfriend material then?” Shaun teased him. “Just started putting food in your mouth and you fell for him.”

“I mean-

“I doubt it was food he put in his mouth,” Rebecca said and laughed at her own hilarious joke.

“Becca!” Shaun and Lucy both yelled. Desmond pressed his hand over his face in embarrassment and Clay leaned across the table to high five Rebecca for that excellent burn.

“I hate you guys _so_ much right now,” Desmond groaned.

“Yeah yeah,” Rebecca said.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Lucy said. “You could invite Altair to stuff we do. If he wants to at least. We won’t make it weird.”

“At least not more weird than these two already are,” Shaun sighed.

“Alright,” Desmond said.

“So what about tomorrow?” Clay asked.

“I don’t have plans,” Desmond said and made a mental note to text Leo they’d have to do it some other time.

“Wanna go fishing?”

“My stepdad just got these _really_ nice new rods from a friend,” Lucy added.

“Yeah but your stepdad is a hardass. Would he let us use them?”

“He’s out of town. He doesn’t have to know.”

“Dang Lucy, look at you being a rebel and everything,” Desmond said and golf clapped. Rebecca and Shaun immediately joined in.

“He won’t even use them,” she said. “He hates fishing.”

“That sounds like fun,” Desmond said. “I could be down for a day of fishing. Go up to to the Boca Chica bridge.”

“And we could go swimming afterward,” Rebecca said brightly.

“Sounds like a great idea,” Lucy said.

Then they all looked at Shaun who was gnawing on the bone in his steak. He stopped when he realized they were all looking at him. “Wut?” he asked around the bone.

“You wanna go?”

“Uh…”

“You’re really gonna go ‘uh’ after getting on _my_ case for not hanging out right now?” Desmond demanded.

“Can we go somewhere else then?” Shaun asked. “I hate driving up here on the weekends.”

“Like where? Sugarloaf?”

“Lower Sugarloaf,” Lucy said.

“Fine,” Shaun said.

“Great,” Lucy smiled at them all. “I’m glad we’re all going to do something together. Feels like forever since we’ve all hung out outside of school or club. And see if Altair wants to come,” she added to Desmond.

“I will,” but he doubted if Altair would want to. He barely liked hanging out with his own friends, let alone Desmond’s. “And bring your swim gear, we’re gonna bridge jump.”

“Hell yeah!” Clay said.

“Uhg,” Lucy groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are great, comments are even better, even if it's just to say 'this was cute!'. I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.


	87. Chapter 87

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red herring, it’s what’s for dinner lols

The car still wasn’t in the driveway when Desmond got home. He texted his dad asking as he got off his bike. Where were they? As he did he saw Duncan had replied to him. ‘/Jaimie/ thinks you both look very cute together’.

Desmond snorted. ‘Sure she does.’

He unlocked the door, reading some more texts from Altair, so not paying attention at all, when he almost ran into someone. “Desmond!”

He jerked to a stop with a start. “Mom?” he asked, his heart hammering.

“Where have you been, young man?” Chloe demanded, hands on her hips.

“I went out for lunch with my friends,” he stammered.

“You didn’t leave a note. You didn’t text or call.”

“I did. I did! Uh—“ he opened his message with his mom on his phone. “See. I totally texted you.” Desmond could not handle when his mom went all super parent on him. His dad he could deal with because he knew what to expect from his dad. He was just a grumpy white dude. His half hispanic mother? Desmond hadn’t really known spanish as a kid but he sure knew when his mom had scolded Duncan or Dylan in Spanish so bad they’d literally turned inside out. She was a super nice lady ninty percent of the time unless she thought her sons were acting up or were in trouble. He’d also seen her go off on one of Duncan’s old principals when he’d gotten into a fight with some kid who’d called him a faggot.

She’d never had to yell at Desmond. Partially because he was her baby and partially because he was never got in trouble because he was so boring. He had no idea how to handle his mom when she got ‘protective Spanish mom’ on him but apparently, it was to make himself look as innocent as possible.

She narrowed her eyes a little and took his phone. “Did you get your father’s texts?”

“No,” Desmond shook his head quickly. “Last time I heard from dad was when I asked about having the sleepover.”

She looked over his phone and he peered over to make sure she wasn’t noticing his conversation with Altair. The texts had been fairly innocent but not _all_ of them were. Instead, she just went to his conversation with William to check to make sure he wasn’t lying. Desmond licked his lips, waiting. “Okay,” she said and handed him his phone back. Then she hugged him and that was a bit unexpected. “I was so worried. You weren’t answering us.”

“Sorry. I was literally just here and then I went to lunch and came right back,” Desmond hugged her back. “I was wondering where you guys were too.”

“We went to the store.” She let him go. “Did you actually cook _yourself_ breakfast this morning? I noticed some things were missing.”

“Uh- erm… my friend Altair likes to cook and insisted he make breakfast.”

Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Ha, you should get some pointers from him then.”

“Ah… yeah. Probably.”

“You’re home for the rest of the day?”

“Proooobably,” he said. Well there went going to hang out with Altair before work. “I have homework.”

“And your chores,” she reminded him sternly.

“Yeah. I didn’t forget,” he said. “Also me and my friends were going to go up to Sugarloaf tomorrow and do some fishing.”

“You won’t be bridge jumping, will you? You know I hate when you do that,” she said, voice full of concern.

“Ahhhh…

“Desmond,” she said sternly.

“I mean Clay might. I won’t,” he said and at the moment meant it.

“Good. I’m glad you’re going to spend time with all your friends. Seems like you only spend time with Clay anymore. Are they still doing well?”

“Yeah,” Desmond said. He felt so awkward lying to his mom. And poor Clay. He’d used him as an excuse since he and Altair had started dating to stay out late or spend the night somewhere. Was a great excuse but there was a reason his friends had had an ‘intervention’.

“Good.”

“I’m gonna go work on my homework. I have an evil English essay to do,” he groaned.

“It isn’t due on Monday is it?” Chloe asked with a knowing look of disapproval.

“No. It’s due _next_ Monday. I’m just making myself suffer two weekends writing it instead of one.”

That made his mom laugh a little. “Alright. Well, I’m glad you weren’t purposefully ignoring us.”

“No way. I always respond to texts.” That wasn’t even a lie. He did. At least if he could and wasn’t at work or school.

With that, he went to his room and sat on his bed. “Holy shit,” he said to himself. Why had that made him so nervous? Probably because he’d seen what his mom did to Duncan when he would fuck off for the day. Or maybe cause he knew he could have been in actual trouble for skipping school on Friday and that would have been grounds for disappointment and probably grounding. Not to mention he hated lying to his mom. His dad he could do but his mom? She was just so great he felt so bad when he lied to her.

He opened his conversation with Altair. ‘Don’t think I can come over before work. Sorry :,c’

‘After work?’

‘My parents thought I was ignoring them so I don’t wanna push my luck’ ‘I’m going fishing with friends tomorrow though!’

‘Okay’

‘Wanna come?’

‘Fishing?’ ‘Where?’

‘Down at Sugarloaf’ ‘Lucy told me to invite you’

Altair didn’t respond right away. Desmond got up and went to his desk and opened his still shiny and new Macbook from Christmas to work on his essay and basically use it to cheat at math because he hated writing out the proofs for things when he could just _do_ the problems. He’d start on the math first since that could be done rather quickly. He turned on some music as he worked and then his phone made Altair’s text tone.

‘Where are you going to fish?’

‘Off the bridge’

More silence. Maybe he was busy. Desmond went back to his math and had done half of the problems before Altair texted him again. ‘Wanna use my boat?’

Desmond cocked his head to the side. ‘What?’

‘I have a boat’

‘I know you have a boat’

‘Instead of bridge fishing we could just use my boat’ ‘If you wanted to’

‘Seriously?’

‘Sure’

Desmond immediately opened the big conversation he had with his friends. ‘Yoooooooooooo. Altair is offering a boat for the fishing tomorrow’

Clay replied, basically, instantly. ‘He’s got a boat?!?!!?!??!?!’

‘That’s super cool!’ Rebecca replied shortly after.

‘What do you think?’ Desmond asked them. ‘Boat instead of bridge?’

‘Fuck yeah!’

‘Hell yeah!’

‘So I have to drive all the way up to stock island? Uuuuuuuuhg’ Shaun finally chimed in.

‘Shaun fuck off we’re getting a /boat/‘ Clay said. ‘Rebecca tell your boyfriend to stop being a wet blanket’

The conversation was quiet for a little bit and then Lucy finally got around to reading it. ‘I’m cool with the boat idea.’

‘F I N E’ Shaun said.

‘Got him to agreeeeeee <3’ ‘thank me later’

‘Okay. I’ll tell him,’ Desmond told them.

‘Yaaaaa!’

‘Boat boat boat boat boat boat boat boat’

Desmond laughed and went back to his conversation with Altair even as he kept getting messages from the others as they talked about things. ‘Everyone thinks it’s really awesome you’re offering to let us use your boat’

‘k’

‘Unless you don’t want to now?’

‘No. It’s fine.’ ‘It’s fine.’

‘You sure?’ ‘You don’t have to hang out with me and my friends if you don’t want to’

‘I do’

‘Okay. So long as you’re okay’

There was a long bit of no response and Desmond checked the other conversation. It was practically a wall of text of everyone deciding on what to do and talking about food and drinks and who was bringing a cooler and if they should bring snorkel gear. Desmond just muted the conversation so he could keep working on his math homework. He’d finished it and was working on the research for his essay when Altair texted him again.

‘You sure you don’t wanna come over today? I’m kinda nervous’

‘I’ll try and come by for a few minutes before work. How’s that?’ Desmond texted back with a bit of a smile. He certainly hadn’t been lying about Altair being awkward. He was basically agreeing to be out in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of people he didn’t really know.

‘k’

Desmond did research and an hour before he had to do his chores so he’d be done with them before work. He took out the trash and cleaned his room and spot cleaned his bathroom. Then he took a shower and put on his work clothes so he could leave early. His mom had food for him before he left and he scarfed that down too before saying his shift was earlier than usual today and ducked out.

He rang the doorbell at Altair’s house and Altair let him in. “I can’t stay super long but I’m here,” he said as Altair closed the door behind him. “Your gramps home?”

“No. He’ll be home tomorrow though.”

“Oh good,” Desmond said and wrapped his arms around Altair’s neck. “You’re really nice letting me and my friends use your boat,” he said, smiling. “They’re all super excited about it.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh! And plus side; I’m gonna be shirtless alllllllll day.” He laughed when Altair’s eyes got all glassy as he thought about it.

“Okay. I like this idea more,” Altair said.

“And they all get to be jealous cause my boyfriend is obviously the hottest one there,” he kissed Altair on the nose. “I mean it’s not even a competition.”

“Well that’s not true,” Altair said. Desmond rose his brows at him questioningly. “Cause _I_ am gonna have the hottest boyfriend there.”

“I mean… I’m not going to argue that point,” Desmond said. He unwound his arms from around Altair’s neck and pulled out his phone. “But really, they’re all super excited.” He pulled Altair over to the living room to sit. “Freaking Lucy has been asking me how big it.”

“Thirty feet,” Altair said.

He typed that in to tell them. “And they’re all talking about food and drinks and who’s bringing what.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh,” Desmond nodded.

“Wow. Your friends are way better at this than mine. Whenever my friends go out on a boat they never bring anything and only don’t get dehydrated cause I bring water with me.”

“Really guys?” he groaned when a few new texts came in.

“What?”

“Clay said, ‘I didn’t know Altair had thirty feet.’ Rebecca said, ‘Well we know what Desmond likes at least’.”

“Your friends are weird,” Altair said.

“Yeah, they are,” Desmond sighed.

“They’re bringing food?”

“Yeah. From what I see mostly chips and snacks.”

“How long do they think this is going to be? And when are we going out?”

“Why?”

“Well it’s my boat. I kinda need to know, need to make sure I bring enough gas and water and all that.”

“I’ll ask them.” He did so and waited for them to argue it out. “Still feel nervous?”

“I’m always nervous.”

“That’s not nervous, that’s anxiety and totally different.”

“I don’t want it to be awkward, that’s all. I know what your friends think of me. Jock with too much money.”

“Which you are.”

“And they’re a bunch of nerds who play D&D-

“Which your friends _also_ do,” Desmond pointed out.

“Yeah but my friends aren’t losers,” Altair said giving him a look.

“Mmmmm, fair enough,” Desmond agreed. His phone had been going the entire time. He looked down at it. “They’re thinking ten thirtyish to two or three depending on how far out we go. How’s that sound?”

“Okay.”

Desmond told them it sounded good and his phone vibrated for a solid minute straight after that. “They’re really excited,” he told Altair with a chuckle.

“I can tell,” Altair said. “When do you have to go?”

“Mmm, ten minutes.”

“Alright.”

“You literally spent all day with me yesterday. I think you can manage,” Desmond rolled his eyes a little. “And you’re gonna see me tomorrow too. I think you’re pretty set.”

“I guess,” Altair said morosely. “I just like seeing you all the time.”

“That’s pretty gay.”

“I’m literally. Your. Boyfriend,” Altair gave him a look and Desmond laughed.

Desmond gave Altair a vague play by play of the text conversation that was still going on and eventually Altair just pulled him into his lap to read over his shoulder. If nothing else Desmond was glad his friends were excited enough to not need his input in any way. All he had to do was show up. This only lasted so long before Desmond untangled himself from Altair saying he had to go to work. Altair walked him to the door and kissed him goodbye which was lovely. “You’re gonna spoil me,” Desmond said when they finished.

“Hmm?”

“Just how sweet and nice you are to me. I’m gonna be so spoiled.”

“Good,” Altair said and kissed him again. “You should be.”

Desmond had to drag himself away and got on his bike. He felt Altair watching him from the doorway. He looked back and waved, Altair waved back, before riding off and heading for work.


	88. Chapter 88

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double upload this week because someone commissioned a second chapter for this story this week. I'm unsure if they'd be comfortable with me giving their name so they'll just remain anonymous. If you'd like to do the same you can go to my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com/ask) for more information.

Altair woke up at his usual time on Sunday, which was early. His gramps had come home late last night but he was already in the kitchen before Altair, making coffee so strong and black Altair was pretty sure it could bench press more than him. “Good morning _ibn_ ,” Rashid said.

“Morning,” Altair scratched at his side tiredly. It was just starting to get light out.

“Do you want to pray with me this morning?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Alright.” After double checking the coffee Rashid left the kitchen to a spare room that had their prayer rugs in it and some other Islamic things his grandfather had collected including an ancient q’ran he said had been in the family centuries. Altair had trouble reading it so he totally believed it.

Altair opened the fridge and grabbed the ice coffee he’d made the other day and poured it into a cup. Then in went milk and a little sugar. As he made it he thought of Desmond adding tons of sugar to his coffee in order to drink it. At least Altair added stuff to his coffee. His gramps was a monster and drank hot coffee completely black and sometimes right out of the pot. Probably wasn’t good for his heart but then neither was being the owner of restaurants. He ate a banana while he waited for Rashid to be done with dawn prayer and did his best to wake up.

When Rashid came back into the kitchen he had a little spring in his step. Altair hated him for being sixty-something and more lively and alert than him this early in the morning. “Now then, what shall we have for breakfast, hmm?” Rashid asked him.

“You cooking?”

“Or we could go out. I do enjoy being cooked for,” Rashid said with a devilish grin.

“I’m not really hungry,” Altair said.

“So something light. Let’s seeeeeee.” Rashid wandered off into the huge room pantry and Altair nursed his ice coffee. By now the coffee machine had made half a pot of coffee and was rumbling as it made more.

When Rashid came back into the kitchen Altair said, “I’m going to use the boat today. Some friends want to go fishing.”

“Really? Do remind Ezio to bring sunscreen. I felt so bad for him last time.”

Altair snorted. “Yeah. He’s not coming.”

Rashid was in the middle of pouring a cup of his coffee when he stopped and looked at Altair with concern. “Is everything alright _ibn_? You and Ezio still getting along?”

“What? Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“But he’s not invited?”

“Oh… ah. Yeah. I made some new friends.”

“You did? That’s wonderful!” Altair hunched a little at that. Rashid knew he was not good the whole friends thing. Still, it was kinda embarrassing that even his grandpa worried about him being a weird shut-in introvert with no friends. “Have I met them?”

“One of them I think?”

“You’re going to be out for lunch I assume?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we should make lunch!”

“They already said they were bringing food-

“Bah. I know what ‘food’ means to teenagers. It’s chips and dip, Cheetos, candy, and _garbage_.” Altair couldn’t refute that. Desmond had said that that was what his friends were bringing and Altair had thought the same thing. “How many people are you taking out?”

“Four,” Altair said.

“When are you leaving?”

“They said like ten thirty of so.”

“Well that’s easy enough to manage. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should figure out breakfast first, huh?”

“Yeah, probably,” Altair said with a slight grin as he sipped his ice coffee.

With that Rashid went about making breakfast. Altair half ignored him while sitting at the counter and took out his phone and looked at his Snapchat. He had also found this new app called Vine recently. It was small but interesting with six-second loop videos. There was some calming stuff on there he liked watching and a few times he’d left a loop on while trying to go to sleep. There was also a lot of garbage, just like any social media. His friends all had Snapchat, Leo had made them get it, and they posted stuff regularly. Mainly a lot of selfies which seemed to be what the app was for. But it was good because it let him keep up with what his friends were doing without actually having to go see them, which he liked a lot.

He was tapping through a story when Desmond texted him and everything became significantly less important than that. ‘Clay woke me up. You awake?’

‘Yeah’

‘Did I wake you?’

‘No. I’m always up this early’

‘k’ ‘Could I come over earlier than we decided?’

‘If you wanted to. My gramps is here though’

‘Would it be weird?’

‘Probably not. He’d be thrilled I actually invited a friend over’

“Who are you texting over there, Altair?” Rashid asked.

“Huh?” Altair looked up, his little smile dropping.

“Must be someone special.”

Altair rolled his eyes, “It’s just my friend,” he said. “He was saying something funny. Don’t get ideas that I’m talking to a girl.”

Rashid chuckled. “Oh no, of course. Not my grandson. He’s too shy to talk to girls,” Rashid teased him only a little. “Is he one that you’re taking out on the boat today?”

“Yes.”

“The one I met?”

“Maybe? I’m not sure. I don’t remember,” he frowned a little.

Altair looked back down at his phone. ‘Then could I?’ ‘Better than staying here waiting, doing nothing’ ‘And I’d have a good excuse for why I’m not answering Clay’s annoying texts’.

‘We’re just having breakfast’

‘Okay?’ ‘Or I could wait till 10’

Altair was conflicted. He wanted Desmond to come over because obviously, Desmond. But he didn’t want Rashid to know. ‘If you do we aren’t going out’ ‘I mean’ ‘You can’t act like we’re dating’.

‘Dude’ ‘My last boyfriend was so deep in the closet he was in god damn Narnia’ ‘I know how to be’.

‘Okay’

“Anything interesting going on?” Rashid asked. His face must have been doing things while he texted Desmond.

“He asked if he could come over. He’s supppper impatient-

Rashid laughed a laugh a bit less than a belly laugh. “Ah yes, I’ve heard that lie before.”

“What?” Altair asked.

“Malik says the same thing when he wants to come over before nine because he wants breakfast.”

“Oh,” Altair said hoping he didn’t sound too relieved. “I mean, I don’t blame them. This is the breakfast spot.”

His gramps chuckled. “I think that would be fine. It’s better to share meals with friends.”

“I’ll tell him,” Altair said and texted Desmond.

‘K! I’ll be over in a lil bit. Need to get my gear together and tell my parents I’m leaving early’

‘k’ ‘No rush’

Altair finished his ice coffee while his gramps made breakfast and watched everything on his snapchat and Vine before playing a game on his phone. The doorbell rang and Altair slid off the stool to go get the door.

Desmond was at the door, wearing his leather jacket still, helmet on but the strap undone wearing jeans and a white shirt underneath. He looked so not ready for a day out on a boat. He looked like he was going to school. “Hey,” Desmond smiled brightly at him. “Thanks for letting me come over.”

“No problem,” Altair let him in. “I don’t remember if you two have met before,” he said when they arrived at the kitchen. “Gramps this is my friend Desmond.”

Rashid stopped what he was doing a moment to look over at the two of them. “Ah, hello!” he waved a little.

“We’ve met,” Desmond said. “Last time you were wearing hammer pants.”

“He wears them like all the time, that isn’t helpful,” Altair said.

“They’re comfortable,” Rashid protested. “And did you come in on a moped?”

“Moped— what? No. I have a motorcycle,” Desmond said, a bit offended.

Rashid looked at Desmond, at Altair, then back at Desmond, “Now don’t be a bad influence on my grandson. He’s a nice boy.”

Desmond laughed and Altair covered his eyes. “Gramps,” he groaned.

“What? He’s obviously a trouble maker. Riding a motorcycle,” Rashid scoffed.

“I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve ever been called a troublemaker,” Desmond said, still grinning. “And don’t worry, I won’t. It’s a one-seater anyway so he’d have to walk,” he jabbed Altair in the ribs.

“Hmmmm,” and Rashid made a very grave face.

“Gramps, he’s my old chemistry tutor. Trust me. He’s not a bad influence,” Altair sighed.

“Oh. Right. I forgot you were in tutoring. Why did you stop?”

“Cause he finally got wise and learned how to do chemistry,” Desmond said with a smirk.

“Ah. I see. Good. Well, Desmond was it?” Desmond nodded. “I’m making breakfast so I hope you’re hungry.”

“Yeah-

“He’s always hungry. It’s a real character flaw of his,” Altair said, finally able to get back at Desmond a little.

“I just like food,” Desmond protested.

“That’s the spirit. Why don’t you go put your things down. I’m almost done.”

“Okay.”

“You can put them in my room,” Altair said. “So the old guy doesn’t snoop!”

“I do not snoop!” Rashid called from the kitchen even though they were already down the hall. “It’s my house, I can look at things!”

Desmond snickered as they went into Altair’s room. “I like your grandpa, he’s funny.”

“Yeah, hysterical,” Altair huffed. “And why are you dressed like that?”

“Hmm?” Desmond asked as he started to peel off his leather jacket.

“You’re dressed normal and we’re going out on the water.”

“Oh. You _have_ to wear jeans when you ride a motorcycle or you risk burning your leg on the pipes or engine. I mean you could still burn your leg but jeans help protect it. Same thing with the shoes. It’s super unsafe to ride a motorcycle with flip flops.” Then he opened his backpack and Altair saw he had brought other clothes with him, “But I brought swim stuff to change into when I got here.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were so safe about it.”

“Hell yeah. I’ve seen some bike accidents. They are _nasty_. So I’m always super safe and whenever I can don’t drive at night too so I don’t get into an accident, always wear my helmet, wear a jacket, jeans, real shoes. I’m not interested in a trip to the hospital. Cause that’s how all bike accidents end, no matter how small.”

Altair was horrified. He had no idea motorcycles were so dangerous. His first instinct was that he never wanted Desmond to ride again but he knew that wouldn’t happen. Desmond made his own choices. “So all those times you’ve left my house at night-

“Well you live pretty close to me so it’s not as bad,” Desmond said quickly. “Like I wouldn’t go visit Clay late at night or drive up the Keys or drive myself to a party or something.”

“You saying that stuff is gonna make me worry whenever you drive at night now,” Altair frowned.

“Don’t. I’m super safe about it. I appreciate the concern though,” he kissed Altair on the nose. “Now I’m starving and I have no idea what your gramps is making but it smelled _awesome_.”

“He says we should pack a lunch for everyone,” he said as Desmond took off his shoes to put on his flip flops. “I did tell him you guys intended to bring food but he got it into his head that we should have actual food.”

“Dude. Your gramps is fucking amazing,” Desmond said. “That sounds like a great idea! Everyone already thinks you’re awesome for bringing food to club, they’re gonna love it you’re bringing _more_ food.”

“They are, or just you?”

“I’m included in that number,” Desmond said with a grin. “Don’t look so smug. Let’s go see what your gramps made.” Altair consented to that and they left the bedroom to go have breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the double update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!'. I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> Also it amuses me that in story time Vine would have literally come out only a few weeks previous to this chapter.


	89. Chapter 89

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update brought to you by rampakslue by commission. If you're interested in a commission you can check it out [here.](http://xazz.tumblr.com/comm)

The prow made a smacking sound on the waves as it moved out across the Gulf. Altair was driving and that meant no one was bothering him. Thank goodness. He was regretting this. Kinda. Out on the water for four hours with a bunch of people he didn’t know. Sounded like torture. At least Desmond was around.

It was by far the most prepared he’d ever seen teenagers who went out on a boating trip. They’d brought two coolers. One for drinks and snacks, the other for the fish they hoped to catch and their bait. The coolers weren’t very big but that was more than Altair’s friends ever did. Lucy had also brought some fishing polls, two of them. They were really high end and even nicer than the one Altair had to offer. Rashid just had one to have one, neither of them really fished. They liked cooking fish, not catching them. They were all really surprised by how nice his gramps was in making them lunch even when he told them junk food was terrible for them and they needed _real_ food when going out on the water for extended periods of time.

Now they were all sitting in the front of the boat and he could hear them talking but the wind and the water made it too loud to hear what they were saying. Altair just focused on getting them to where they were going. Which was a designated fishing area in the reef. A lot of the reef was protected and it was illegal to fish there but there were places it was allowed, places clearly marked by mooring buoys so you didn’t drop anchor and destroy the coral.

It took them about thirty minutes to get out to where the fishing and swimming was good. The water was maybe fifty feet deep and crystal clear so you could see down to the bottom and the huge coral heads popping up out of the sand. Altair turned off the motor and went around to the front to attach the boat to the mooring so they wouldn’t move around too much. As he did Rebecca and Shaun were leaning over the side to look at the fish and coral.

“This is really cool,” he heard Rebecca say.

“Let’s catch some fish!”

“Clay, there’s no need to yell,” Lucy sighed.

“He’s excited,” Desmond said.

“He’s gonna scare all the fish away if he yells,” Lucy gave Clay a look.

Altair just sat and watched. It wasn’t hard since he was wearing sunglasses so no one knew he was just watching them. Desmond said it really went with his ‘jerk jock’ vibe he had going for him. Altair wasn’t going to complain. They opened the bait cooler and got out the three fishing rods and went to the back of the boat where the sides weren’t so high.

He grunted when Desmond sat down on his thigh. If nothing else Desmond was right. He did enjoy that his boyfriend was unapologetically shirtless and was going to get so tan. Altair was into it. Everyone had slathered on a ton of sunscreen before going out except for Shaun who was apparently so white because of all the sunscreen otherwise he’d turn red in an instant. He was also the only one wearing a shirt out here. “Don’t look so mean,” Desmond said. Altair’s face was reflected in his own sunglasses.

“Huh?”

“You look mean.”

“This is just my face,” Altair said.

“That’s a lie. You mad?”

“No. I’m not mad.”

“Okay. Good. I was worried you were mad. They’re awkward around you too. They’ve never seen you outside of school or that one time you came to club and literally didn’t say anything.”

Altair made a face. “Fair enough,” he agreed.

“HA!” They both looked when Rebecca yelled. “Got something already!”

“What the fuck? That was so fast,” Clay said.

“I got the touch, baby!”

“They’re real weird,” Altair said.

“Uh-huh,” Desmond agreed.

“Ah!”

“Oh shit, I dunno how to take the hook out.”

“And useless,” Altair sighed. He gently pushed Desmond off him and went to where they were trying to get ahold of a yellow tail with limited success while it still hung off Rebecca’s line but flopping along on the deck. Altair stepped on it’s tail and grabbed it under the gills. He took the hook out of the fish’s mouth. Altair thought it made a weirdly satisfying noise when he did. The hook still had the bait on it. “Here,” he said.

“Wow. Thanks,” Rebecca beamed at him.

“How’d the bait stay on?” Clay asked in general.

“Fish sometimes don’t get to eat the bait and just get the hook,” Altair shrugged. “Just got lucky that time.”

Rebecca cast her line out again and Altair retreated some to stand under the awning that covered the wheel well and sit on the captain’s chair. They caught a few more fish but Altair had them throw some of them back because they were too small and having too small fish of some species on your boat with the intention of keeping was basically illegal. Altair also became the designated ‘take the hook out’ guy which he didn’t mind. He was the only one who didn’t take a hand at the rods but everyone else took turns. The fish were biting today too and they caught quite a bit.

Around noon they broke for lunch and opened up the amazing sandwiches Rashid had made for them. “I’m actually tearing up. This is so good,” Rebecca said as they sat around the prow eating.

“It’s literally a cold cut sandwich,” Shaun said.

“You haven’t even tried it yet, Shaun,” Rebecca scolded him. “Eat it before you judge.”

Shaun just rolled his eyes and took a bite. They all laughed when his face shifted into delight. “What did your grandpa put in these anyway?” Lucy asked.

“It’s roast beef, some veggies and a sauce he made,” Altair said.

“It’s the sauce,” Clay proclaimed. He had opened his sandwich to try just the sauce. “I want that in a bottle so I can put it on everything. It’s fucking. Amazing.”

“You can buy it,” Altair said. “He sells it at one of his restaurants-

“He has a restaurant?” Clay asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah. Like four of them.”

“Really? That’s so cool. He own one here in Key West?”

“Yeah. It’s called Fins.”

Clay frowned, “Never heard of it.”

“It’s really expensive so you’ve never been,” Lucy said and gave Clay a look. “My mom and step dad went there for their anniversary. Mom said the food was probably the best she’d ever had.”

“Woah. Seriously? And if that’s a hint you want me to take you there good fucking luck,” Clay said. “He sell this sauce at Fins?”

“I don’t think so,” Altair said. “Fins is a high dining seafood place. They probably sell it at the one in Orlando tho-

“Where in Orlando?”

Altair wasn’t amused. “Not Disney if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I mean, nothing is impossible right?” Clay said cheerfully.

“It’s his second restaurant. Pretty famous but cheaper. They sell traditional southern food like barbecue-

“He does barbecue too? What does your grandpa not do?” Shaun asked.

“Nothing? He’s a professionally trained chef. He does everything and thinks doing one thing all the time is super boring, so all his restaurants are different.”

“Still. Kinda weird to have an Arab guy who does barbecue isn’t it?” Shaun said.

“I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Yeah Shaun, don’t be fucking racist,” Rebecca smacked his shoulder hard.

“I wasn’t,” he protested.

“Or stereotypical,” she added.

“I think that’s pretty cool,” Lucy said. “Do you cook?”

“Uh… yeah,” Altair said slowly.

“And his food is amazing,” Desmond put in quickly.

“Man, if only _my_ boyfriend cooked,” Lucy lamented.

“I know right,” Rebecca sighed dramatically.

“I can cook,” Clay protested.

“Boiling water for noodles is not cooking, Clay,” Lucy said.

“Hey, I try at least,” Clay grumbled and gave Shaun a dirty look.

“What? _She_ can’t cook either,” Shaun pointed at Rebecca.

“That’s cause she lives on Doritos and Red Bull,” Lucy said.

“I do,” Rebecca agreed. She was drinking a big can of Red Bull too. “But that’s why my boyfriend should know how to cook.”

Shaun gave her an unamused look. “I live in Big Pine. How could I possibly cook for you all the time?” Rebecca just shrugged. Shaun ate his sandwich in a moody silence.

“Well, at least we’re all agreed on who has the best boyfriend in this situation,” Desmond said smugly.

“Eat it up, Des,” Clay grumbled.

“I do— don’t fucking say a thing,” Desmond threatened and gave Clay the evilest eye he could.

“I didn’t say anything,” Clay said innocently.

“You were thinking it you pervert.”

It took Altair till then to get it. “Oh,” he said. That made Clay laugh.

“You too,” Desmond threatened him now.

Altair just gave Desmond a look as best he could through his sunglasses, raising his eyebrows at him slowly. Desmond was already a little red from the sun but Altair could tell his face was even more red. “Anyway,” Altair said as he finished off his sandwich. “You guys going to fish? Cause I wanted to swim.”

“You shouldn’t swim after eating,” Rebecca said.

“That is literally a wives tale and has no scientific backing. I think I’ll be fine,” Altair said and rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. He dusted his thighs off from crumb and got up.

“I think we did our fishing,” Clay said. “Got more than enough.”

Altair just nodded and opened up the seating to take out a mesh bag with his snorkel and fins in it. “Anyone have the time?” he heard Lucy ask as he went down to the back of the boat where he could dunk his head and the mask into water. As he did that the boat tipped a little as someone jumped off it with a whoop. He guessed it was Clay because immediately after was Lucy’s concerned, “Don’t do that!”

Desmond came up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked up at him. “You don’t have another mask do you?”

Altair dug through the mesh bag. “Yeah, I do. But if you’re going to go out there you should put on some more sunscreen. You’re starting to look a little red.”

Desmond looked down at himself like he could tell the difference. “Oh. Good idea. Will you help me?”

Altair wasn’t sure if you could tell through his tan but he _definitely_ blushed when Desmond asked that. _Allah_. How many pornos had he watched (and mostly skipped over this part) where this was the exact premise? Of course, that wasn’t going to happen because they were in the middle of the Gulf with Desmond’s friends but _still_. Judging by Desmond’s little grin he knew it too. Oh, his boyfriend was _the worst_. “Ah— sure,” he said because of course he was going to help his boyfriend put on sunscreen he wasn’t a god damn idiot!

He got up as Desmond went and grabbed the bottle from Shaun and met Altair back by the covered captain’s chair. He handed Altair the bottle and turned around so Altair could start with his back. They didn’t have the spray on block either so he squeezed some on his hand and Desmond rolled his shoulders a little when Altair rubbed it on his shoulder blades and then down. He definitely took his time doing it too, running his hands down Desmond’s spine and along his flanks and the back of his arms. “Okay, done,” he announced and Desmond turned around.

Altair looked over Desmond’s shoulder where Shaun and Lucy were still sitting and drinking some soda. Shaun was also bickering with Rebecca who was hanging off the front of the boat about something. “What? Nervous my friends are going to think you’re feeling me up?” Desmond asked him.

“Oh. Was I not supposed to be?” Altair asked him sarcastically. He put more sunscreen in his hand and started with the front of his shoulders and his arms. Desmond didn’t have a real runner’s body, he was just sort of fit but was nice and soft when Altair ran his hands over his chest and stomach. Altair liked that about him since he was more skinny and muscular than him and it meant Desmond was perfect to cuddle against nights he came over or the few times Altair had stayed over his place.

“Hey, watch the love handles,” Desmond complained when Altair got a little handsy with him.

Altair scoffed. “Those are barely love handles.” It was just a bit of extra fat on his hips and Altair could barely say that it wasn’t just the way Desmond’s body distributed all his weight around and less that he had actual love handles. “And they’re called love handles, that means to handle them you have to love them.”

Desmond choked on his own laugh. “That was so fucking lame,” he told and pushed Altair off him.

“Hey! I’m not done yet,” he protested and pulled off Desmond’s sunglasses. He put a bit more sunscreen on his hands to wipe it on Desmond’s cheeks, forehead and nose. Desmond just squeezed his eyes shut and let Altair put the sunscreen on his face and hummed a little when Altair kissed him. He tasted like cooler food and sunscreen thanks to getting a big whiff of the stuff. “Okay. I think you’re properly protected from the sun now,” he teased Desmond.

“Yeah, and what about you?” Desmond challenged.

“Ah. Well unlike you I don’t actually get sunburn. Perks of having all this lovely melanin,” he said and waved his dark skinned hand in front of Desmond’s face.

“Man, you just know how to go from cute to jerk in three seconds flat don’t you?” Desmond said but Altair knew he wasn’t actually annoyed.

“You’re still dating me,” Altair said with a cheesy grin.

“I know. I must be out of my god damn mind,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“You still want to use the mask?”

“Uh-huh,” Desmond nodded.

Altair went back over to the back of the boat and had to get the mask and his face wet again to help with the suction. He also dunked his fins on and wiggled them on. Desmond was waiting for him by the time he was finished and he pushed off the boat to join him. Up by the front he heard the others splashing about and once he was in the water Desmond swam up to the bow. Altair really didn’t want to follow him but he did anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the double update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.


	90. Chapter 90

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /crying through laughter  
> I fucking love Rashid so much
> 
> Once again this extra chapter was bought and brought to you by rampakslue. If you'd like to find out more you can go [here.](http://xazz.tumblr.com/comm)

By the time they got back to the island Altair wasn’t the only one worn out and ready to go home. He was officially exhausted from having to be with all these people for so long. Not that there was anything wrong with Desmond’s friends, they were pretty nice and actually rather fun, Altair was just exhausted by people for too long. Even if it had been his own friends he would have been exhausted. He was going to be very happy to take a shower then lay down and not move for a little while with Snow since Desmond had to go to work and couldn’t stay since he had to go to work.

As they puttered through the dug trench that wrapped around the island to get back to his dock Desmond came over to the wheel well. After a few seconds, he sat down on the captain’s chair since Altair was standing. “We need to do this again. This was super fun,” Desmond said.

“That’s a word for it,” Altair said.

“What? Did you not have fun?” Desmond asked and got up to wrap an arm around his waist. Altair just shrugged. “What’s that mean? Did you not have fun?”

“Your friends are still awkward,” Altair grumbled.

“Oh— Well you could bring yours if you wanted. I'm guessing Ezio has a boat, doesn’t he? Judging by that sour look you’re giving me, yes, he does,” Desmond chuckled.

“I like spending time with just a few people at a time,” Altair said.

Desmond looked very thoughtful for a moment. He really was considering what Altair was saying which was sort of surprising. “Well, we don’t have to do this right away. And I figure if there are more people that means there are fewer people to bother you since they’ll be bothering each other.”

“Not quite how that works, but it is a nice thought,” Altair said and gently pushed Desmond’s arm off him since they were coming into view of the house. Desmond leaned next to him on the console.

“Hey, I get it, you’re an introvert. That’s cool. but I’m not. I don’t mind spending lots of time alone with you but it’s fun when we do things with other people too,” Desmond said. “And I wanna do fun, group things, with you involved too so you don’t feel so awkward around my friends and they don’t feel so awkward around you.”

Altair gave him a look, “Have I told you I hate when you make sense? Cause I really do.” That made Desmond laugh. Altair shut off the engines and walked off as the boat glided the rest of the way to the dock. He grabbed up the mooring line and had it knotted around a cleat in a few seconds. He did the other one quick enough as well so the boast wouldn’t drift away from the dock.

“Never thought I’d be so sad to see dry land,” Lucy said as everyone got up and heaved themselves onto the dock.

“Speak for yourself,” Shaun complained. Despite basically being covered in sunscreen and a shirt Shaun was still sunburned on every bit of exposed skin. Not a lot but he was definitely redder than he’d gone out. Lucy and Clay were too but of the three whitest people there Shaun was the worst. Rebecca had some Greek in her somewhere because she’d actually tanned without much hassle.

“I was,” Lucy said. Desmond helped Clay drag the coolers out of the boat.

“I have some aloe you can use before you head out,” Altair told Shaun sympathetically.

“Thanks, mate,” he said and took the most awkward step off the top of the boat well onto the dock. They handed him things to carry and he just looked grumpy and sunburned standing there.

“We got everything?” Lucy asked once they were all out of the boat.

“Looks like it,” Altair said doing a last once over. “If you forgot anything specific Desmond can give it to you tomorrow at school.” He climbed out of the boat and led them back inside.

Inside his gramps was listening to Israeli rock music as loud as possible which was pretty loud thanks to the sound system he had. Altair ran and turned it down while everyone attempted to cover at least one ear. “Hey! Who’s there? I was listening to that!” Rashid called from somewhere in the house.

“ _Your music is too loud, old man!_ ” Altair yelled back. Back in English, he said to the others, “If you want you can shower before you go. This place has four bathrooms.”

“Oh you mean I don’t have to make the long journey up the Keys smelling like brine? Fantastic,” Shaun said. Everyone else agreed that was a pretty good deal.

Altair found his gramps in the mini gym. His gramps was old but still tried to stay active. He was just walking on the treadmill looking like a workout video from the eighties only, mercifully, without the spandex. But he had a headband on and absorbent bracelets and shorts that showed off his little chicken legs and a tank top so you could see all his ‘magnificent’ old man flab and white chest and shoulder hair. “Hey gramps, we’re back.”

“Altair I was listening to that song,” Rashid hadn’t stopped his power walking despite all this.

“Well, there are a bunch of white kids in your house. They can’t appreciate the music. Also, we’re going to use your shower if that’s cool so everyone can get cleaned up and get home.”

“That’s fine,” Rashid nodded. “They aren’t staying?”

“Nah,” Altair said. “Everyone’s wiped.” Rashid just nodded again and Altair went back to where the others were waiting. He showed them the three bathrooms they could use.

“You said there were four,” Clay said.

“Yeah. That’s mine,” Altair gave him a look.

“Clay stop being ungrateful and go take a shower,” Lucy said and shoved him into the bathroom along with his dry clothes he’d brought with him. “Sorry,” she told Altair.

“Desmond has told me that’s just how he is,” Altair shrugged.

“I don’t like how you’re talking about me out there!” Clay called from inside the bathroom.

“Just take your shower, Clay. Others wanna too,” Lucy called back.

Altair headed for his room and was both surprised and not surprised when Desmond followed him. “Shaun and Lucy both take supper long showers and I don’t feel like waiting,” was his explanation when Altair gave him a curious look. “And my clothes are in your room.”

“That’s a real good excuse,” Altair said and Desmond snickered. “You can go first if you want,” Altair said once they were in his bedroom.

“What? Don’t wanna come with me?” Desmond asked him. Well, there went Altair’s brain entirely.

“Uh…” Desmond just grinned at him. “Yes,” he said and wow his voice just cracked a little. He cleared his throat as Desmond grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bathroom.

Desmond, as was tradition at this point, gave them both shampoo mohawks. It was intimate but not really that sexual. They did end up making out against a wall but that was the extent of it. They hadn’t kissed a lot out on the boat and Altair thought that was a real shame since Desmond just looked so good in board shorts and nothing else. Mostly because they were in the water or Desmond was near his friends so there wasn’t really a chance for kissing. Desmond was good for making up for it though. They did have to stop eventually because Desmond _did_ have to leave at some point to go to work.

They did make it out of the shower in two pieces and dried off. “I swear you own two work shirts,” Altair said as Desmond was getting dressed.

“Huh?”

“You have a black one and a gray one. Every single time I see you before you go to work you wear the same shirt and I know Babaloo’s doesn’t have an actual dress code.”

“They’re the only collared shirts I have,” Desmond said.

“One; how? And two; you look terrible in gray.”

Desmond looked down at his gray polo. “I think it looks alright? Do I look better in the black one then?”

“Everyone looks better in black but this is ridiculous.”

“Well, I don’t- hey! Altair!” he complained when Altair took the shirt off him. “That’s my shirt,” he whined.

“I should throw it in the garbage,” Altair said and tossed it onto the bed in more than a little disgust. Honestly. Desmond at least wore t-shirts with nice graphics on them and usually came in a range of colors. But this ugly gray polo nonsense wasn’t going to fly again. Thank god he’d been wearing the black one the time he and Malik had gone and seen him at work or Malik would have teased him about his taste in men _even more_ than he already did.

“Uhg. Altair,” Desmond groaned. “The polo is fine.”

Even as he said that Altair dug something out of his dresser and shoved it at Desmond. “Wear this.”

Desmond sighed and looked at it. “Red’s not really my thing,” he sighed.

“You look good in red. Try it,” Altair insisted. Desmond huffed again and pulled on the button down. It was a little tight on him but not in a bad way. Altair stepped over when he was finished and Desmond shivered when Altair pushed the shirt into his pants so it was tucked in and presentable. “There. You look good now,” Altair said approvingly.

Desmond tugged on the collar a little. “I do?”

“Yeah. You look really nice when you’re all cleaned up. Well, more nice,” Altair said and pressed his mouth against Desmond’s. “Honestly thank god all you wear is t-shirts otherwise someone else would have gotten wise to how good you look before me.”

“Is this you telling me my style sucks?”

“No. I like your clothes. These just make you look nice,” Altair said. “I don’t get how you’re so fucking clothes clueless though since that’s like all guys can do to say ‘hey I like to suck dick’ without actually saying it.”

“Ah. Bi,” was Desmond’s excuse.

Altair rolled his eyes. “You’re a disaster,” and he pushed Desmond out of his room. Desmond managed to grab his backpack, jacket, and helmet as he was and they heard people in the kitchen.

They found Rashid cleaning the fish for everyone and everyone was leaning on the far counter to watch him. “You guys look like you’ve never seen someone do that before,” Desmond said.

“Dude, fuck off, Rashid does it amazing,” Clay said.

“Ha! You are a generous boy, Clay. It really is nothing,” Rashid said, hardly even looking at his hands as he ran the knife under the skin to fillet the fish.

Desmond joined them at the counter and Altair leaned against the edge, not too close to him. “So how are we splitting them?”

“Well we caught about fifteen so I figured three each?” Clay said.

“That math doesn’t work. Who’s not getting some?” Altair asked.

“Me,” Desmond said. “My dad _hates_ fish. My mom isn’t real big on it either,” he shrugged.

“You can honestly take my share too,” Rebecca said. “No one will appreciate it at my house.”

“I don’t need more than three,” Clay said. Lucy and Shaun both agreed. “You want the rest?” he asked Altair. “I figure of anyone you’d actually know what to do with them.”

“That is a very nice offer, Clay,” Rashid said. “We’d be happy to.”

“Great.”

“Ah— oops. Took too long in that shower. I gotta go,” Desmond said after he checked his phone. “Don’t wanna be late for work.”

“Man, already?” Rebecca complained.

“Yeah. Sorry. Don’t wanna be late, insurance doesn’t pay for itself,” Desmond said as he pulled on his leather jacket and zipped it up over his borrowed red shirt.

“I’ll see you out,” Altair said nicely. Desmond nodded and he was putting on his helmet as they stepped outside.

“Sorry I can’t stay more,” he said as Altair stepped out of sight of the kitchen outside.

“It’s alright. I know you have work,” Altair said. “Ride safe.”

“I will and I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Enjoy your fish dinner,” and Desmond kissed him briefly on the mouth before walking over to his bike.

Altair waited till he was gone to go back inside. There he heard Shaun talking to Rashid about his cooking experience both as a professional chef and as a chef in the military. He didn’t really pay attention. He did send Desmond a text telling him to have a good night at work. After that he just sort of participated in the conversation until the rest of them all left. Altair helped his gramps clean up the kitchen a bit and threw out the parts of the fish they weren’t going to use before saying he was going to go lay down for a bit while his gramps made dinner.

He was very glad when he could finally crawl onto his bed above the covers and pulled Snow out from under his bed. He really didn’t want his gramps asking him why he suddenly had a stuffed animal or why he’d bought one. Not that he’d condemn Altair for it. It’d just lead to questions since despite no longer holding a box of chocolate shaped like a heart it still looked like a Valentine’s teddy bear with pink inner ears and a heart shaped nose and the ‘pads’ sewn into the paws also being heart shaped. He sighed tiredly and closed his eyes for a little bit holding Snow close to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the extra update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> Also Desmond confirmed for Bisexual. I keep forgetting about that cause he prefers dudes but he definitely is bi.


	91. Chapter 91

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another extra chapter was bought and brought to you by rampakslue. If you'd like to find out more you can go [here.](http://xazz.tumblr.com/comm)

Desmond tried to go to his locker as unoften as humanly possible. Passing periods were only about five minutes and his third and fourth periods weren’t anywhere near his locker. So he had to make choices when he went by it. Either he got all the books he needed for the morning classes in the beginning of the day or he ran around to get the ones he’d forgotten for third period. Which is what had happened now. He’d forgotten his book and had had to book it across the school to grab his book. He closed his locker with a snap of hard plastic and jumped a little at Altair standing on the other side of the door like some high school movie cliche.

“You know how hard it is to find you when you’re not in class?” Altair asked him.

“Sorry?” Desmond rose a brow at him. “I needed to get a book.” He stepped away from the locker and headed for his class. Altair fell into step next to him. He just had his backpack over one shoulder and fucking _how_ did he make that look sexy?It was totally unfair. His boyfriend was unfair! Altair didn’t usually accompany him between classes. It was sort of weird. What did it mean? “Did you need something?” he asked.

“I just wanted to tell you not to go get lunch today.”

Desmond brightened at that. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“I know,” Altair chuckled and stopped him by a door that led to one of the pods. “I’ll meet you where you normally eat lunch.”

“Fourth period is gonna be even more torturous knowing you’ve got something planned for lunch,” he groaned.

“You’ll live, I know you will,” Altair chuckled and kissed Desmond lightly on the mouth. “I’ll see you at lunch,” he said and Desmond just had a super dumb look on his face. He was never going to get tired of his crush kissing him. _Never_. Or if he did he was going to have a long talk with himself about what the hell was his problem.

“Bye,” Desmond managed to get out as Altair left him.

By now the breezeway was mostly empty and Desmond hustled down the building to his class. He got inside just as the bell rang and his teacher gave him a disapproving look as he made it into his seat. He admitted to daydreaming a bit about what lunch was going to be like. He did keep up with the class but he did wonder what Altair was going to do. Last week he’d stopped doing lunch because Desmond’s friends had given him dirty looks. Which sucked. Desmond just wanted to eat good lunch with his boyfriend. They were better now but they’d been rude enough to make Altair gun shy about bringing Desmond lunch from outside school again.

When the bell rang Desmond was pretty excited to get out of his seat. He didn’t rush since Altair hadn’t texted him saying he was already there meaning he might be driving back still. Desmond went back to his locker, put away his morning books and took out his afternoon books and made his way down to the planters by the auditorium.

Shaun was the only one there since he always brought his own lunch. He sat next to Shaun. “You look… great,” Desmond said.

“Shut up,” Shaun said. He was somehow red as a beet despite having worn a ton of sunscreen. Just utterly burned with bright red cheeks and his nose was probably going to peel. Clay was pretty red too but not nearly as bad and Lucy was just sort of red. Desmond didn't know why Shaun was so unlucky. “Not getting lunch?” Shaun asked him skeptically.

“Altair is bringing me lunch.”

“That must be nice. Also, your boyfriend is fucking rich. Like you know that right?” Shaun gave him a look.

“I am aware,” Desmond actually complained.

“And you're not impressed? At all?”

Desmond rose a brow. “No? Why should I be? My family is rich too- 

“What!?” Shaun demanded. “How is this new information I'm only hearing right now?”

“I don't know? My grandpa owns a lot of land. He's rich. It isn't really a big deal,” he shrugged but Shaun was staring at him.

“No wonder you get such expensive fucking Christmas gifts you git,” Shaun grumbled.

“Not like I'm gonna get any of it,” Desmond rolled his eyes. “My dad's the youngest of a bunch of siblings and I have a metric fuck ton of cousins. So not like it matters.” As he finished Rebecca showed up with her lunch of Doritos and Red Bull and sat next to Shaun.

“Sleep alright?” she asked him. Rebecca wasn't burned at all. She just had a wicked tan.

“I slept,” Shaun said.

“Well that's better than what I expected honestly,” she said. “And what's up with you?” she asked Desmond.

“Altair is bringing me lunch.”

“Ooooo, lucky. He's pretty cool you know. I figured he was going to be a real jerk cause he's a jock and is friends with Ezio and them. But he's pretty nice. Super intense, but nice. And his grandpa is craaaaaazy.” That made Desmond laugh.

“Becca, did you know Desmond's family is money?” Shaun asked.

“Hmm? Yeah of course,” she said. 

“Am I the only one who didn't know this?” Shaun demanded. Rebecca just shrugged and Desmond looked up when someone came over to them. He brightened immediately. It was Altair. He had a lunch box with him which was weird but okay. 

“There you are. Was wondering when you'd show up,” Desmond said as Altair came to sit on his other side.

“Lost track of what time it was,” Altair said and set the lunch box down.

“So, what is it?” Desmond asked even as Altair opened the lunchbox and pulled out two Tupperware containers. He handed one to Desmond. Desmond opened it and looked at him. “You are totally unbelievable,” he told Altair before leaning over and kissing him. That made Altair smile.

“What'd you get?” Rebecca asked from around Shaun. 

“Fish tacos,” Desmond said.

“Whaaaaat? I'm so jealous right now,” she declared.

Inside the Tupperware were three little fish tacos already made but with the pico de gallo and sauce on the side so it wouldn't make the tortilla soggy. Desmond dressed one up and took a bite. “Holy shit. Did you skip class to go home and make this?” Desmond asked him.

“I might have,” Altair said once he'd had some of his own.

“Holy shit!” he cried and that made Altair laugh a little.

“I thought it was stupid you didn't get to enjoy what you caught just cause your dad doesn't like it,” Altair said.

Desmond waited until Altair had finished the next bite before leaning across their lunch and kissing him deeply. He thought he was well in his right to do so since his boyfriend was amazing. “This doesn't mean I approve of you skipping class. If you get a lower GPA than me we're breaking up,” Desmond teased him.

That made Altair chuckle. “Trust me, that isn't gonna happen anytime soon so long as you suck at English,” Altair said and kissed him again. This was pretty great honestly. He needed to do more of this boyfriend kissing thing other times than just when they exclusively hung out. Like at school. Just sort of sucked they didn't have a lot of classes together so he rarely had the opportunity except for lunch and Catarina would murder him if he flirted with or kissed his boyfriend at their table. Not for any other reason than it meant he wasn't paying attention and she would be out of a work buddy.

“Man and I thought Shaun and Rebecca were an issue,” Desmond heard Clay say as he came up with his lunch.

“Literally fuck off,” Desmond said and Clay snickered as he pushed Shaun over to sit next to Desmond. “And they are way worse. I'm surprised they aren't making out now.”

“We do do other things than that,” Shaun glowered. 

“You sure? You sure you wanna lead with that comeback, Shaun?” Desmond asked and rose a brow at him. Altair snorted into his taco to stop from laughing and somehow Shaun got even redder.

“Whatcha got there?” Clay asked, leaning around him.

“Homemade fish tacos,” Desmond said.

“What? No fair. I want some,” Clay complained.

“Sorry, not sharing,” Desmond said, not apologetic in the slightest.

“You're the worst,” Clay grumbled and ate his cardboard pizza.

“Where's Lucy?”

“I think she's meeting with the guidance counselor,” Clay said. “Something about some scholarships or whatever.”

“Or whatever. This is why she doesn't share her lunch with you,” Desmond told him.

“What? I'm super up to date fuck you. She just does a lot of other stuff okay.”

“You should pay attention to your girlfriend as much as you do all the school gossip,” Rebecca chimed in.

Clay rolled his eyes. “Anyone other than me knowing what she wants to go school for?” No one answered. “Medicine, specifically neuroscience. I know my shit and her shit. I'm just not up her ass about it.”

“We're just giving you a hard time. No need to get so uppity,” Desmond said.

“I know. It's just annoying. I already have to hear it at home and these two idiots,” he jerked his thumb at Shaun and Rebecca. “Besides, not like we're gonna stay together after high school.”

“You're not?” Rebecca asked.

“Nah. She's going to Princeton and I'm staying in state,” Clay shrugged.

“And what? You just decided to break up at the end of senior year?” Shaun asked.

“Yeah. Neither of us want a long distance relationship. And we just figured it'd be easier so we can have fun in college guilt free. Besides, that's like a year away. She's definitely gonna get sick of me before then. I don't know if you've met me or not but I'm a weird dude.”

“Man. I'm so depressed now,” Rebecca said and frowned as she took a sip of her Red Bull.

“You did ask,” Clay huffed. “That's what you get for bothering about my personal life.”

“I think it's good to have a plan,” Desmond was surprised when Altair said that. He'd finished his lunch and was just listening. “So there are no hurt feelings later on.”

“When you put it like that,” Shaun nodded. “Still that's so far away. Literally a year, Clay.”

“Yeap,” Clay nodded. “I know you guys think I'm a doofus but I got shit on lock okay. Math nerds always got their shit together, I don't know if you know that.”

“Just because you like math doesn't mean you're good at it,” Shaun said which made Clay cry out in indignation.

“Yo, you gonna eat the rest of that?” Altair distracted him. He had a bite left of his last taco in the Tupperware as Clay glowered at Shaun.

“Huh? No. You want it? I ate off it already,” Desmond said. 

“I should be worried why?”

“Germs?” Though really Desmond wasn't quite sure himself.

Altair gave him a look. “You really think I'm worried about your germs after some of the things I've had in my mouth?” Altair asked.

“Uh…”

“Way too much information, Altair,” Shaun said as Altair took the last bite of the taco.

“What? Uncomfortable knowing I take better care of my boyfriend then you probably do your girlfriend with how annoyed she is with you all the time?” Altair asked him.

“Ooooooh! Get shit on, Shaun,” Clay cried.

“My god,” Desmond groaned and covered his eyes.

“You're not allowed to complain about us anymore,” Shaun said to try and save face.

“Yeah. Sure. I'll remember that all the times I don't make out with my boyfriend every time I see them,” Altair said. Desmond sort of got what he was doing. He'd seen how his friends talked to each other and was doing the same and it was fucking amazing. Also kinda embarrassing cause he didn't want or need his friends to know this much about his personal life with Altair.

“What's going on over here?” Lucy asked, finally appearing.

“Altair's got chops is what. Fucking absolutely brutal on that one,” Clay laughed. He looked like he wanted to do like be did to Desmond and Rebecca and high five him but thought better of it. He wasn’t sure how Altair would react to it.

Lucy looked between them. “Judging by everyone’s faces I probably don’t want to know actually.

“Probably for the best,” Desmond said like he was in great pain.

“Guidance counselor have anything good to say?” Clay asked, getting up. Lucy just shrugged. “I take it you ate lunch already?” She nodded. “So wanna ditch these guys and do the rounds with me?”

“You make it sound so much more fun than it actually is. I’ll pass,” she said and kissed him on the cheek. She sat down next to Rebecca while Clay absolutely pouted.

He looked at Desmond. “Don’t look at me,” Desmond said. 

“C’moooon. It’s been forever since you came with,” Clay complained.

“Yeah and I got way more important things to do than listen to you talk to the rest of the school gossips,” Desmond said.

“Like what?” Clay groaned.

“Me,” Altair said like he literally couldn’t help himself, and Desmond facepalmed again.

Clay looked at Altair like he’d never seen Altair before. “That… was a good one. Okay. You’re off the hook I’ll see you later,” and he walked off.

Desmond gave Altair a look. “You’re doing this on purpose,” he grumbled.

“Oh, completely,” Altair agreed. Desmond just groaned a little in annoyance.

Desmond was glad when the bell rang about five minutes later. He said goodbye to his friends and went with Altair up to their chemistry class. Altair followed Desmond to his table and -steadfastly ignored Catarina’s withering glare- leaned against it. “You aren’t busy after school are you?” he asked Desmond.

“Hmm? No, not particularly. Why? Have something in mind?”

“You could say. I’ll meet you in the parking lot after school.”

“Uhg. Could you possibly go to your own seat, Altair?” Catarina complained.

“What? I’m talking with my boyfriend here,” Altair gave her a look. “Just cause you’re still pissed at Ezio doesn’t mean you gotta be pissed at me. I don’t have anything to do with his nonsense.”

She just glowered at him some more and looked so pleased when the late bell rang. Altair went and sat in his own seat and Desmond totally stared at his ass while he did. “I have no idea what you see in him,” Catarina said under her breath to him.

Desmond looked at her. “Me neither, but I sure like it,” Desmond said with a wide grin. The answer was so unexpected she actually smiled helplessly too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the extra update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.


	92. Chapter 92

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck. Missed earlier this month. Here's the late update. Expect another one soon cause someone is still throwing money at me.

Desmond got to Altair’s car in the parking lot before him and waited against the hood. Not terribly fun in a leather jacket for his ride home in this heat. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long before Altair showed up. “Sorry, was making plans with my friends,” Altair said.

“It’s cool,” Desmond said. “I wasn’t waiting long.”

“Great,” Altair said and unlocked the door. “Get in.”

“Where are we going? Can’t I just drive?”

“Surprise and you could but you’re saying you don’t want to be in a small enclosed space with me?” Altair asked, door open.

Desmond felt his brain work through that one. “Yeah okay,” he agreed and got into the car. Altair chuckled and tossed his backpack into the back of the car. Desmond did the same with his bag, jacket, and helmet. He perked up when Altair leaned across the way and kissed him once the doors were closed. “So uh, where are we going?” Desmond said after he cleared his throat. Altair turned the car on and joined traffic out of the parking lot.

“How was work last night?” Altair didn’t answer his question. “It busy?”

“Uh— good? And not really, no more busy than any other Sunday.”

“You make good tips?”

That was a weird question to ask. Especially from Altair who didn’t have to worry about money. He knew Altair didn’t care about Desmond being less wealthy than him and wasn’t asking to make Desmond feel bad. He was genuinely curious. He thought about it. “Yeah actually, I did,” Desmond said. “Oh! That reminds me, I brought your shirt with me. Don’t let me forget to give it back.” Altair nodded. “Why’d you ask?”

They managed to make it through the light. “Just confirming my theory is all,” Altair said.

Desmond squinted at him. “Could that be any more bullshit cryptic? And where are we going?”

“I told you, it’s a surprise,” Altair said. Traffic out of the school was always a nightmare when the school day ended and they crawled along in traffic.

Desmond sighed. “Fine. What plans were you making?”

“My friends wanted to go see a movie tonight.”

“Really? Which one?” Desmond asked.

Altair shrugged, “I don’t remember. Not super interested in it-

“Yeah cause there’s probably no longing gay gazes in it-

“Shut up!” Altair cried and Desmond laughed. “I was gonna ask if you wanted to come but now, really fuck you,” Altair growled. Desmond just giggled into his hand.

Desmond leaned on the center console and gave Altair a grin. Altair gave him a sort of glare while still keeping his eyes on the road. “Did you want me to come?”

“Not anymore,” Altair scowled. Desmond snickered.

They stopped at a light. “Awww, don’t be mad,” Desmond said and kissed Altair on the cheek. “I think it’s cute you ship them.”

“Uuuuuhg,” was all Altair said.

They made it to one of the big shopping centers in Key West. Not quite a mall and not exactly a strip mall either is was basically one of the few places on the island where main land big box stores existed. Nothing as great as Target, Costco, or Walmart unfortunately. Altair parked and got out. “You gonna tell me where we’re going now?” Desmond asked as they got out of the car.

“Marshall’s,” Altair said.

Desmond gave him a confused look. “ _Why_? For the record, this is a weird sort of date, Altair,” Desmond said.

“It isn’t a date. Your work clothes are just horrendous,” Altair said and pulled Desmond along.

“You’re still on about my polos? Jesus fucking christ, Altair,” he groaned.

“Did you not make more tips than usual last night?” Altair asked him.

“I did but I don’t see what that has to do with this,” Desmond complained as they got into the building. He didn’t hate shopping. He mostly hated clothes shopping.

“You were dressed nicer than usual. You made better tips. I don’t know what’s so difficult to understand,” Altair said taking his hand and leading him to the men’s section. “There’s a reason waitresses usually wear makeup. So they make better tips. You get more money if you look nice.”

“My shirts are fine,” Desmond protested.

“Yes. They are. But you’re gonna complain about making more money?” Altair asked him.

Desmond had to hand it to him there. “No,” he admitted.

“And it wouldn’t kill you to have some nicer shirts for when we go out,” Altair added.

“Uuuhg. I get it,” Desmond complained. “I just hate clothes shopping.”

“Do you normally shop with girls?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s why,” Altair said. “Have I made you do something terrible yet?”

“No,” Desmond admitted. And really he was just being a baby about it. Yeah, he didn’t like shopping but on the list of things his boyfriend insisted on him doing that he didn’t like this was so low it wasn’t even an issue. Altair just wanted him to look nice and make more money at his job. He wasn’t asking Desmond to do things he was uncomfortable with. The way he’d gone about it was sort of annoying but it wasn’t that big of a deal really. “Let’s get this over with,” he sighed. Altair smiled at him and pulled him the rest of the way into the men’s section.

Either Altair already knew what he was looking for, was magic, had supervision, or all three because he seemed to always pick out just the right shirt and the right size for Desmond. Desmond usually wore a size up but that was just what his mom bought him. He didn’t really shop for his own clothes so he didn’t know what to look for other than L because that usually fit his long torso. Altair picked about half a dozen shirts and made him try them on. Desmond expected Altair to wait outside the changing room. Didn’t happen.

“I think I’ve seen a porn like this,” Desmond said quietly.

Altair snorted. “You’re one to talk Mr. Help-Me-Put-Lotion-On,” Altair said. Desmond just grinned. Yeah. He’d totally done that on purpose.

“You could have waited outside.”

“Takes too long.”

“I can pick clothes myself, Altair,” Desmond huffed.

“I’m buying them, so I’ll be the judge of that,” Altair said. That hadn’t occurred to Desmond till just now, that Altair would buy him his clothes. “Now stop staring at me and try one on so I can see,” he ordered. It was probably the most unsexy stripping of Desmond’s life. Altair didn’t say anything as he tried them on. He just looked and would make sure they fit properly. “So these are gross,” Altair said and took two of them and opened the changing room door. “Which ones did you like?”

Desmond quickly gathered up the other shirts to follow him. “Uh… all of them I guess? I don’t know I don’t really have an opinion. They’re nice,” he shrugged.

Altair just stared at him. “You’re the worst gay I’ve ever met,” he said blandly.

“Bi,” Desmond corrected him.

“Worst bi I’ve ever met,” Altair corrected himself. That made Desmond laugh a little. “But you like all of them? You going to wear all of them?”

“Probably. I hate doing laundry-“ Not the best response because Altair just groaned and covered his face with both hands. “What?”

“I can’t believe I date you. You’re such a straight guy,” he positively whined. He removed his hands from his face with a sigh. “Alright. I’ll get them,” he said.

“You’re such a drama queen,” Desmond said.

Altair looked at him, then down at his clothes, “And you’re a mess.”

“Hey,” Desmond complained.

“C’mon,” Altair sighed. “At least now I won’t have to make you come over before we go out.” He started towards the checkout.

“You like it when I come over,” Desmond reminded him.

“Yeah but now I don’t have to wonder if you’ve dressed yourself properly.”

“Man, you are just _so nice_ you know,” Desmond said. He was actually starting to feel kinda bad. He knew Altair probably didn’t mean it but that didn’t mean it felt good.

They got to the registers, “Here. Gimmie the shirts,” Altair said and Desmond handed him the five shirts. The cashier rung them in and Desmond sort of choked at the total. Altair just glanced at it as he handed over the card. Those five shirts had cost almost ninety bucks! What the actual hell? The lady bagged up the shirts and handed it to Altair who handed it to Desmond. Desmond couldn’t help himself and checked the tags. They were all almost twenty dollars.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Desmond said as they were walking back to the car.

“Do what?”

“You just spent almost a hundred dollars on clothes for me,” Desmond said.

“Yeah… and?”

“Won’t your grandpa ask why you spent a hundred dollars in one store?”

They stopped at the car and before they got in Altair said, “The shirt I’m wearing right now cost fifty dollars,” he said. Desmond felt his eyes go wide. “I kinda figured you’d act all weird if we went to the places I usually go for clothes so we came here.” Then he got into the car. Desmond stood there an extra second before crawling into the passenger seat.

“Still won’t your grandpa ask why you spent so much money on clothes?”

Altair started the car but didn’t put it into reverse. He looked at the steering wheel a second then at Desmond. “No. He’s not around a lot and feels bad for it,” he said with a bit of melancholy in his voice. “Like he literally bought me a Mercedes when I turned sixteen not cause I’m a spoiled brat, but cause he felt bad he was never around to take me places and I always needed to take a cab or ask a friend’s parents to drive me. I used to take a cab to and from the grocery store for a while and before that, I had a live-in nanny who’d drive till I got older and didn’t need one. He doesn’t really care how much money I spend so long as it’s reasonable and I tell him when I make big purchases. Ninety bucks for a couple of shirts is not a big deal.

“My gramps literally spends thousands of dollars a day keeping his restaurants up and running even on slow days when they don’t break even. So I get why you’re concerned, but it isn’t an issue. He won’t mind if I want to buy things for you, even if he doesn’t know they’re for you.”

Desmond just stared at him. He had no idea. That was when it became obvious to him for really the first time that the two of them lived on completely different planets. Desmond had a rich family, but his dad didn’t and probably wouldn’t see a lot of pop-pop’s money. Desmond had lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins who all were around pop-pop and nanny way more to get an actual inheritance Desmond would probably never see since he was the youngest kid of pop-pop’s youngest kid and one of the youngest of his many cousins. Instead, their family was pretty middle class. They didn’t struggle but he’d never call his family wealthy. Altair was _actually_ rich. Yeah, it was his grandpa’s money but he had direct access to it and could spend it. But he wasn’t like Ezio who was flashy with the fact that his dad was wealthy. It was easy to forget Altair had money until it was right in your face that he had money because he didn’t act like it.

He took a deep breath as he realized that. “Oh,” he said. “I feel like you’ve had this conversation before.”

“All my friends except Ezio got all weird when I buy them nice things at first.”

“And your gramps never asks what you spend money on?”

“Sometimes. But usually not. If I buy something and he doesn’t see proof of it in the house at some point he assumes I got someone a gift. He likes to joke and tell me to say he tells whoever ‘you’re welcome’ for whatever I bought them.”

Desmond smiled a little. “That’s kinda sweet.”

“Yeah. So it _really_ isn’t a big deal. I know it seems like a lot but it isn’t.” Then kinda shyer he said, “And I like spoiling you.”

Desmond flushed a little. He rubbed the side of his face and neck. “Oh… well. Thanks,” he said lamely. Altair leaned across the seats to kiss him lightly.

“Did you wanna come to the movies with me and my friends?” Altair asked.

Desmond wasn’t so sure. If Altair felt awkward around Desmond’s friends Desmond really felt awkward around Altair’s. “I have a ton of homework,” he lied. “Not today.”

“Alright,” Altair nodded and finally put the car in reverse. They talked a bit more on the way back to school and Altair parked next to Desmond’s bike in the mostly empty parking lot. “Oh, I almost forgot,” Altair said as Desmond was getting his stuff out of the back seat. Desmond looked at him. “Leo told me to remind you to text him about DnD stuff. He’s too anxious to ask you about it in case he’s bothering you-

“But not too anxious to ask you to bother me about it?”

“Basically,” Altair chuckled.

“I’ll text him when I get home,” Desmond said. Altair nodded.

Desmond pulled on his jacket and opened his backpack to stuff his bag of clothes in when he saw he still had Altair’s shirt in there. He pulled it out and went around to Altair’s side, showing it off some. Altair rolled down his window to take it and give Desmond a goodbye kiss for good measure. Altair followed Desmond out of the parking lot but turned towards the theater at the next light. Desmond just drove home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the extra update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	93. Chapter 93

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the bonus chapter thanks to rampakslue
> 
> Word of warning, this is a very dialogue heavy chapter. Not that it’s boring, just no one moves a lot lols

There was a knock on Desmond’s door while he was doing his homework. “Yeah?” he called.

William popped his head in. “Someone’s here to see you. A… Leonardo?”

“Oh! Coming,” and Desmond jumped out of his seat. Leo was in the living room talking to his mom about one of the paintings she had on the wall. “Hey, Leo,” Desmond said when he saw him.

“Oh. Hi Desmond,” Leo said, a bit awkward about being in the house of someone who he wasn’t _really_ friends with.

“You can come to my room. I have all the stuff ready.”

“Oh, great,” that made him greatly relieved.

“What are you two doing?” William asked, giving Desmond a bit of an evil eye.

“Leo wants to learn to be a D&D DM like me and Shaun,” Desmond said, squashing any thoughts William might have about him and Leo fooling around. It was weird. William didn’t register Altair as a potential boyfriend for Desmond but he did Leo. Probably because Leo looked like an awkward, gay, art nerd and Altair looked like the jock who’d stumbled into the situation. Honestly, Altair had wanted to come just to listen but he was helping the varsity football team train their new first string for next year with Malik apparently. Or something like that. All he knew was that football was involved and if Leo was still around he’d drop by after practice.

“Oh. Well have fun,” William said with an implied ‘I guess’. His parents didn’t really understand his love of D&D but that was okay. They still bought him figurines and books for it for gifts and were glad he enjoyed a recreational activity that didn’t involve drinking, smoking weed, or getting into trouble.

Leo followed Desmond into his room and he offered Leo a chair he’d brought in from the kitchen and sat at the desk with him. Leo had the DM Guide with him and took it out when Desmond brought out his other books. Leo also had a notebook. A notebook _filled_ with notes. Holy shit. “So you read the DM Guide?”

“Most of it. I skipped parts I didn’t understand. I figured you’d explain it.”

“Uh-huh,” Desmond nodded.

“It seems really complicated? Especially the part about rolling and having numbers and sheets for everything. Does everything have character sheets?”

“No. Just the player characters do. Monsters and NPCs have super compressed ones. You can just use the ones the monster guide has so you don’t have to worry about making up your own.”

“Do you do that?”

“Sometimes. My party is also really big and they’re all pretty high level. Me and Shaun will scale creatures up and down depending on what we need. But your friends are all level one. You shouldn’t have too much trouble with just using low-level monsters.”

“Oh. Like what?” Leo asked and Desmond opened up the monster manual. They went over a collection of low-level monsters Leo could use for his first session. “What do you have your party fighting?” he asked. Desmond showed him higher level monsters and some lower level ones he’d scaled up to make it difficult for his party to deal with. “Wow. Those are pretty ridiculous.”

Desmond chuckled, “Yeah. But they’ve been playing for a while.”

“Do I have to use the same xp chart as they suggest? I figure my friends would get bored if they didn’t level up pretty often. They’re all kinda into games for the instant gratification.”

“You can run your game however you want but I wouldn’t suggest letting them level up every session after the first five levels or so. That way they can appreciate what they have when they get stronger,” Desmond said. That made Leo laugh. “Shaun keeps track of everyone’s xp for me and I give him notes on who gets bonus xp for good role-playing or being clever or character development- what?” he asked. Leo was staring at him wide-eyed.

“You can do that?”

“What? Of course. It’s a role-playing game. You get bonus xp for roleplaying. I used to give them out way more liberally when everyone was really shy but now there’s gotta be something _really_ good to get role play bonus xp.”

“I never thought of that. My friends did pretty terrible during your game huh?”

“It wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. If you don’t know or are shy about role playing it’s hard to do. I was pretty happy with how they acted.”

“How do you make them do it more?”

“Do what more?” though Desmond could tell Leo was _super_ into the idea of making his friends actually pretend to be their characters. “Act like their characters?” Leo nodded. “Reward them when they do it and punish them when they don’t. Like if your cleric character started acting unlawful I’d make something bad start to happen. Or if Malik as a rogue wasn’t using his character as a rogue and more like a fighter like Altair I’d find a way to penalize him.”

“Like how?”

“Like he’d rip his cloak and get a penalty to stealth rolls or something for his hastiness. I had to do it to Connor and Ava when they first started playing with us. Connor’s barbarian is not very smart and he was acting too smart. Likewise, Ava’s druid had very little regard towards nature till me and Shaun punished them for acting against their class and alignment.”

“Wow. That’s a lot to do. I had this idea for a session if you’d help me with it?”

“Sure. That’s what I’m here for,” Desmond nodded. They spent the next hour or so hashing out Leo’s first session and by the end of it he just looked more overwhelmed but excited by what Desmond had said to him.

“Okay… okay. I think I need to work on this some more,” Leo said, looking over his notes. He made a face and then asked, “Would it be a bother if you sort of helped me the first time?”

“Huh? Yeah, sure, I don’t think that’s a problem,” Desmond said.

“Could I come by tomorrow and work on it more with you?”

“Sure,” Desmond nodded. “If you wanted I could have Shaun come over. He and I DM differently so you could see how we both do it and really make your head hurt,” he chuckled and Leo grinned.

“Yeah. That sounds great,” he said nodding. Desmond gave him some other books. “Uh… could you give me an idea of what I should come with tomorrow?”

“A rough outline of what you want your session to be. I figure you can kinda hang out in our homebrew since me and Shaun don’t use the D&D world and it’s better than creating an entire world from scratch.” Leo nodded at that. “Have a couple NPCs for your campaign if you need them and the monsters you want to use and a rough idea of encounters you want. Me and Shaun will help you tailor those things to a five person party.”

“Okay. Uhm… are you going to be in it or just be in the back?”

“I’ll probably play just so it’s more fun. I can scale my character Gerard down to play with your party. He might be a level or so higher than yours if that’s cool?”

“No no that’s totally fine! We really got all messed up when we played at level one. I think a higher leveled player would be helpful so they don’t all _die_.” That made Desmond laugh,

“Alright,” Desmond said and helped Leo gather up the books he was taking and walked him to the door. Leo was very excited to get home and work on this.

“Bye Desmond, see you tomorrow!” Leo waved as he got in his rust bucket of a car and drove off.

When he got back to his room Altair said practice was just finishing. Desmond told him Leo was already gone. He just got a couple mad and sad emojis for his trouble. Desmond told him he could come tomorrow which made him happy. He also texted Shaun about what had happened with Leo and he said he absolutely wanted to come over tomorrow to help Desmond with Leo.

—

Desmond was in his room playing video games when he heard his mom call, “Desmond! One of your friends is here.”

Desmond looked at Shaun who was doing homework while Desmond played games. “That’s him,” he said.

“You’re just bringing him here right?” Shaun asked, still doing his math homework.

Desmond nodded and went and got Leo from the living room. He looked even more bouncy and excited than usual and Desmond smiled when he saw him. “Oh,” he added after he told Leo to just go to his room, “I have another friend coming over,” he told his mom.

“Another Dungeons and Dragons friend?” she asked. He nodded. “Should I just send them to your room when they show up?”

“Yes, please,” Desmond nodded. “He… doesn’t look like he’d be my friend. But he is,” he said.

“Uh… what does that mean?” Chloe gave her son a look.

“He looks like the kind guy who’d steal my lunch money-“ his mother laughed over the end. Desmond just smiled broadly.

“Alright, honey. I’ll tell him when he comes over.”

“Thanks,” Desmond said and went back to his room where Shaun was already looking over Leo’s notes. “So how’s it look Shaun?”

“Looks pretty good. He said you gave him homework last night.”

“He _asked_ for homework,” Desmond said, joining them at his desk. “So what’d you come up with?” he asked.

Leo was in the process of telling them about the basic skeleton of his session when the door opened. “Desmond, your other friend is here,” Chloe said and Altair came in.

“Thanks, mom,” Desmond said and she closed the door again. One boy they didn’t know and the door would probably have to stay open. Three including Shaun? They weren’t worried.

“Hey. Did I interrupt?” Altair asked, coming over.

“No, but I have a feeling your’s about to— yeap,” Shaun scoffed when Altair kissed Desmond to say hello. He grinned and didn’t give a fuck what Shaun thought. “Anyway,” he continued once they’d stopped kissing. “What were you telling us, Leo?”

Leo went back to telling them about his session. At one point Desmond moved to sit on his bed instead of standing. Altair joined him and he was really happy when Altair pulled him into his lap. Leo and Shaun didn’t mention it. After Leo told them about the session they asked about encounters and monsters. Altair only half paid attention. Mainly because Desmond told him too so he didn’t spoil himself. So he spent most of the time on his phone, just arm around Desmond’s middle holding him in place. They asked Leo about NPCs and gave him wild answers to answers to his encounters he hadn’t thought of but was important to think about.

At one point Desmond got up from Altair’s lap, to his great annoyance, and got out the notes they had about their homebrew world. It wasn’t allowed to leave with Leo but he was free to look at it while he was here. He and Shaun also gave him the run down about what was and wasn’t possible in their homebrew world and Leo just nodded along and took notes. Around dinner time there was another knock on the door. “Yeah!” Desmond called.

William opened the door. “Desmond, get ready for dinner. Are you boys staying as well?” he asked the other three.

“Uh—“ Leo looked at Desmond with uncertainty.

“You can if you want,” Desmond shrugged.

“Then yeah, sure, if it’s okay,” Leo said shyly.

“Me too,” Shaun said. “Long drive home for dinner.”

William looked at Altair. He looked at William, then at Desmond, “Yes, please,” he said.

“Alright. Wash up then your mother is finishing up.”

“Okay,” Desmond said. “What’d she make?”

“Enchiladas-

“Fuck yeah!”

“Desmond. Don’t swear,” William scolded him.

“Sorry,” he grinned. William retreated. “My mom makes great Enchiladas,” he told Leo and Altair.

“Do they have meat?” Leo asked.

“Uh… yeah?”

Leo groaned. “I’m a vegetarian,” he said.

“Oh—! I’ll go tell her. I’m sure she can make you something. You eat like… eggs and cheese and stuff right?”

“Yeah, those are fine. Just not meat.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her. The bathroom is across the hall, you should wash your hands,” he said and they filed out of Desmond’s room to take turns. Desmond went and told Chloe about Leo being a vegetarian.

She frowned when he told her that. Mexicans weren’t the biggest classic salad sort of people. “I didn’t have anything planned for that. I can figure something out, though,” she said.

“Uh, ‘scuse me,” Altair said awkwardly.

“Yes, dear?” she asked.

“Leo’s my friend too. I could help you make something he’d be okay with eating since I know vegetarian isn’t always the easiest to cook for.”

Chloe looked at Altair, then at Desmond, “Is this your friend who made breakfast?” she asked.

“Ah— yeah,” Desmond said. “He’s really good,” he added quickly.

“You sure you want to help?” she asked Altair.

“Yeah,” Altair nodded. “I like cooking. Feels kinda weird I’m not making dinner.”

Chloe smiled a little, “Alright. You wash your hands?” He nodded and stepped into the kitchen. Altair dug around in the fridge and cupboards for things and whipped something up with Chloe for Leo to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the extra update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	94. Chapter 94

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, long time no write. Been writing other things, things I can't... really share.
> 
> Once again brought to you by rampakslue

Desmond met up with Altair for lunch the next day at school. They were going to go up to Miami Subs for lunch and Desmond wanted to look at the menu again so he met Altair at his car. Altair was already waiting for him, the air on and was a nice reprieve from the heat of Florida spring. As he got in something along his back crinkled. He reached back but couldn’t quite get whatever was attached to his back.

“Here, I got it,” Altair said and peeled a piece of paper off of the back of Desmond’s shirt. “The fuck is this?” he growled in the way Desmond classified as ‘going to rip someone’s throat out’. “Who the hell did this?” he asked Desmond and Desmond looked at the paper sign.

“That’s literally some bad TV dramedy shit,” Desmond scoffed. The paper had a single word written on it. ‘Faggot’.

“That’s all you have to say?” Altair demanded.

Desmond shrugged. “I mean-

“Desmond this is shit,” he folded the sign up.

“It is. But it’s pretty harmless.”

“Do you _feel_ harmed?” Altair asked him seriously.

“Altair,” Desmond said simply, “Being bullied for being a nerd, or for being gay isn’t new to me.” Altair’s face shifted down, eyes widening some. He was surprised. “It hasn’t really been an issue in Key West but in Texas and in some of the other states I’ve lived I was bullied before-

“That doesn’t make it okay!” Altair cried.

“It isn’t like I know who did it!” Desmond cried back. “What use is getting mad when I don’t even know who did it?” Altair just made an angry, frustrated, noise. “Can we just go to lunch? I don’t want to be late for chem.”

“You are taking this _way_ too well,” Altair said as he put the car into reverse to pull out of the parking spot. He was more mad about it than Desmond was. Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, this was some pretty easy going bullying by proxy. It wasn’t like someone had stopped him in the hall and called him a faggot to his face or the other varied unimaginative names homophobes had.

“It isn’t worth getting upset over,” Desmond said as they waited for the light.

“You’re not upset at all?” Altair asked him.

“I am,” he said. “It just… isn’t worth the energy. Bullies like it when you give them the time. Their favorite thing is watching you try and tell them you aren’t,” he shrugged. “It’s the first incident in three years. I think that’s a pretty good track record honestly.” Altair still wasn’t happy about it. “Can you just drop it? I don’t want to give this any more time in my life than I already have.”

Altair slouched in his seat as the light turned green. They drove up to the restaurant in silence except for the radio. They got into the drive through behind another car, there were only two other cars in front of them. “Des,” Altair said.

Desmond looked up from his phone curiously. “Yeah.”

“I know you wanna let this go. I can’t just _do_ that.”

“I don’t know who did it-

“No, but I have a damn good idea who did,” Altair growled. “I have a very fucking short list of pricks who might have done it.” That surprised Desmond a bit.

“Really?”

“Yeah. So you can ignore it if you want. I’m not,” he leaned over and grabbed Desmond’s face in both hands. “I don’t put up with bullies. I sure as shit don’t put up with them targeting _you_.” Then he kissed Desmond and that felt pretty great all things considered.

“Do I _want_ to know what that means you’re going to do?” Desmond asked.

“Better if you don’t,” Altair sat back in his own seat to drive the car forward some more. Desmond frowned at him a little before leaning against the car door with a sigh. He wasn’t going to say anything that would stop Altair from doing whatever he had in mind so he didn’t bother to try. They ordered and got their food, making it back to class _just_ in time.

After school Desmond told Clay about the sign. “That sucks,” Clay said.

“Altair was really mad about it,” Desmond asked as they walked out to their vehicles in the parking lot.

“That makes sense,” Clay said. “He’s never had to confront not being straight since he’s been in the closet the entire time,” Clay frowned.

“Yeah, I guess. It seemed like a really intense reaction. I’m sort of worried he’s going to beat someone up over this.”

“Woah? He said that?”

“No, but that’s the impression I got,” Desmond leaned against the door of Clay’s car. “I tried to tell him it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“It was a shitty thing, Desmond.” Clay took off his backpack to dig around for his keys.

“Yeah,” Desmond agreed. “But compared to some of the shit that happened to me in Texas it isn’t that bad. Whoever did it is expecting me to do something, or maybe Altair to do something.”

“Well if Altair is gonna beat the snot out of them I doubt that that was what they were going for,” Clay said, unlocking the car so they could get in. “I mean it seems really weird for them to even target you. Anyone I talk to thinks you’re a pretty nice guy. Weird, but nice.” He turned the car on to let the AC get cold.

“Yeah well homophobes aren’t always known for their sound reasoning,” Desmond rolled his eyes.

“Though you _are_ a pretty easy target. Nice guy, super easy going, probably won’t cause a fuss. Seems weird to go after you when you aren’t really the type to even acknowledge bullies after that one in freshman year.” The one Clay was referring to was someone who found out Desmond played D &D and had bullied him about it. Didn’t work really well when Desmond just agreed with all the unimaginative nerd taunts he threw out. They’d stopped after a few days and Desmond hadn’t had any problems with bullies after that until literally today. “Maybe it wasn’t even directed at you?”

“Clay, the sign was _literally_ taped to my back. I don’t know how that could be any less directed at me,” Desmond huffed.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if you’ve noticed Desmond but you have a _really_ intimidating boyfriend.” Desmond just rose his brow at Clay. “Like he’s tall and buff as all hell and always looks one testosterone from stabbing someone.”

“Testosterone isn’t an accurate unit of measure,” Desmond said.

“You know what I mean! Like he’s a big, scary, football player type. His best friend was literally the center lineman for Varsity and the other was the quarterback. His other best friend is huge too. Like he’s not a guy you wanna go around calling names to.”

“This seems like a lot of work to try and call Altair something rude,” Desmond said.

Clay just shrugged. “People are weird. You know how straight guys are when they find out people they thought were straight are actually gay. Especially sports guys.”

“Yeah but they don’t bully Malik,” Desmond pointed out.

“That you know of,” Clay said and Desmond had to give him that. Also who the fuck would try and bully a guy like Malik? Temper notwithstanding the guy would turn you inside out for fucking with him.

Desmond sighed a little. “I still don’t think it’s as bad as you’re both making it out to be. I couldn’t have had it on for more than a passing period either since I don’t have class with any jocks really and always wear my backpack usually.”

“You gonna tell your parents?”

Desmond groaned and rubbed his eyes. “No. No, I really am not. My mom alone would go full protective on me and go talk to the principle, and that’s only if she beat my dad to it.” He made a face. “Remember I told you I went to two middle schools in Texas?” Clay nodded. “Cause they took me out of one after getting the principle fired for not disciplining bullies against my brother when he started dating a guy. Like I went to an entirely different school district after that.”

“Holy shit,” Clay said.

“Yeah. Exactly. So I am _really_ not telling my folks about this nonsense,” he huffed. “Mainly I don’t feel like having to go to Marathon.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Yeap. So don’t say anything to them. Now I am gonna head home and get some homework done.”

“Wanna come over and work?” Clay asked him.

“Nah. I’ve had Leo over two days in a row, and Shaun. I kinda just want some quiet.”

Clay chuckled. “Fair enough.” Desmond got out of the car. “See ya!” he called after Desmond as he closed the door. Desmond waved a little and walked over to his bike to head home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	95. Chapter 95

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Yikes!_ Sorry for disappearing so much lately. Gonna try and go back to a consistent update schedule again. I miss writing these nerds!
> 
> And speaking of nerds, god this part of the arc is SO nerdy lols.

On club night Shaun showed up earlier than usual to set up for his week of DMing. To Desmond’s surprise, Altair also showed up early, having skipped out on helping the JV football team because he was just volunteering his time. He was cagey when he showed up and weirdly enough just talked to Chloe when she came out from getting dressed. Desmond thought his parents actually appreciated the designated date night of club. Desmond didn’t know what he was doing but didn’t bother him about it. Instead, when he’d finished talking to his mom he sat on a chair in the living room playing with his phone. It both annoyed Desmond and he also knew Altair was just pretending to be one of his friends and not his boyfriend.

His parents left for some get together with friends before the rest of Desmond’s friends showed up. Shaun was busily going over his notes and making adjustments to _four_ different maps he’d brought with him. Desmond was terrified.

“Desmond,” Altair called from the living room.

“Yeah?”

“Your parents gone?”

“Yeah-?”

Altair got up from the chair. “Good,” he said and walked into the dining room.

“Why?”

“Well for starters; this,” Altair said and pressed a kiss against Desmond’s mouth. He smiled into it. Fuck that felt _awesome_.

“Get a room,” Shaun said.

“Oi!” Desmond cried. “Fuck you this is my house. I can kiss my boyfriend in my own damn house. You’re worse than me even and you never said this shit about Clay and Lucy. If you’re gonna have that borderline homophobic shit in my house you can get out.”

Shaun stared at Desmond. His face didn’t know what emotion it was trying to go with. “I was just having a go at you, mate,” Shaun said, he sounded really hurt. Fuck. Desmond hadn’t meant to sound so mean.

“Des, you alright?” Altair asked him.

“Yeah— Yeah I’m fine,” Desmond said. “I’m Sorry Shaun, I didn’t mean to snap,” he said sincerely.

“You know you’re like my best mate, Desmond. I don’t care who you shag.” Shaun hesitated a second then, “Something happen?”

“No. Just coming from you, it’s kinda bullshit.”

“Right. Well… fair enough I won’t say it anymore I guess,” Shaun said.

Altair pulled Desmond away from the table. “You okay?” he asked him again, softly.

“Yeah. I said I’m fine,” Desmond huffed.

“Is it cause of what happened yesterday?”

“What? What. No,” Desmond scoffed. “You mean that dumb sign? No way. I just—“

“Desmond, you’re allowed to be upset,” Altair said gently.

“I’m _not_ ,” Desmond insisted. He wasn’t. Not really. At least he didn’t think he was at least. He had reacted really badly to just gentle teasing. From Shaun of all people. The guy breathed and it sounded sarcastic. Desmond knew not to take anything Shaun said seriously like ninety percent of the time but Desmond had just straight up gone off on him.

“You sure? You seem pretty riled up.”

“Altair will you just drop it about the stupid sign?” he hissed.

Altair frowned a little, “Alright,” he said and kissed him again. Then, at a more normal speaking tone so Shaun was privy to their conversation Altair said, “And I wanted to know if your parents were gone two because I wanted to make sure the place was clear.”

“Clear for what?” Desmond asked.

Altair grinned. “You’ll see,” he said and tapped Desmond’s nose. That was weird and charming. Desmond got all flustered by it for some reason. Altair left the house and Desmond sat across the table from Shaun.

“So you going to try and TPK us again?” Desmond asked.

“That’s the plan _every_ night,” Shaun said with a grin.

“It isn’t a dragon again is it?”

“Nah. Our group has become quite good at killing chromatics at this point. No need to beat a dead horse.”

“Any hints?”

“Nope. You’re gonna have to suffer like everyone else,” Shaun said and laughed evilly.

“Oh _joy,”_ Desmond sighed.

He turned around in his seat when the front door opened. “-you sure you’re good?” he heard Clay’s voice as he held the door open for Altair.

“I appreciate the offer. I got it,” Altair said like he’d had to say it twice. He had a small cooler in one hand and two reusable grocery bags in the other. But like, nice fabric ones and not just the ones you actually got at grocery stores.

“What’s that?” Desmond asked.

“The surprise,” Altair said.

“Hey guys,” he added to Clay and Lucy. Judging by the state of Clay’s hair they’d probably come together.

“Where’s Becca? She isn’t here already?” Lucy asked.

“Our dwarf is dealing with some family stuff. She’ll get here when she gets here,” Shaun assured everyone.

“Nothing bad?”

“I think it had something to do with his sister dropping out of college,” Shaun said.

“Isn’t she a senior?” Lucy’s eyes were wide.

“She didn’t really wanna talk about it,” Shaun said.

“ _Yikes_ ,” Clay said and sat down at the table. “So Shaun-yyyyyy. What fun you got for us tonight?” Shaun gave him a death look. “Oh, so the usual trying to break Desmond’s overpowered magic items and kill us all? Sounds _fantastic_ ,” Clay laughed.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if he let me look at them first and balance them,” Shaun gave Desmond the death look too.

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Desmond asked, insulted. Shaun just groaned. “I roll most of them off the DM loot table, Shaun, don’t you groan at me.”

“Yeah, except the ones that make our party stupidly overpowered.”

“They’re gonna be level sixteen, they can be overpowered,” Desmond said, making a raspberry noise with his lips. “Rebecca can basically kill a low-level dragon _by herself_ with Naga. You really complaining about characters being overpowered?”

“Because _you_ gave a fucking ‘staff of dragon slaying’ that has a plus three to attack and a deals an additional five d-six to dragons.”

“Weapons of dragon slaying are in the DM guide,” Desmond protested.

“As a plus one to attack and three d-six! How do you not see this as an issue?”

“Because it’s fun,” Desmond said cheerfully. “That and you were throwing us at dragons a few weeks in a row. I didn’t think that was very fair when you were pitting our tenth level characters against ancient dragons. So I just evened it out.”

“And now it’s grossly overpowered.”

“She doesn’t even use it why are you so butt hurt? You know she has Naga just punch the shit out of things way more than beat things with staves.”

“Guys, chill,” Clay said. Shaun looked about to strangle Desmond. “It’s just D&D.”

“Uhg!” Shaun cried and went back his notes.

From the kitchen they all heard some banging. “You alright in there big guy?” Clay called, leaning back in his seat enough to balance it on two legs.

“Yeah. You guys are just ridiculous,” Altair said.

“You don’t even know what they were talking about,” Clay said with a roll of his eyes.

Lucy gave Clay an annoyed look even as Altair leaned over the counter to give Clay the stink eye. “I bet I have a better idea than you.”

“Oh!? Big words from a guy who’s played one game,” Clay teased him.

“And read the DM Manuel, and the Adventurer’s Guide,” Desmond put in helpfully. “Neither of which I can say _you’ve_ read all the way through. Can’t even level up your character without help.”

“Yo what the fuck Desmond? Calling me like this,” Clay said, scandalized.

Desmond chuckled. “Don’t talk shit, Clay.”

“Babe, can you believe this?” Clay asked Lucy.

“Don’t talk shit, Clay,” she said. Clay looked mortally wounded. “So is Ava coming?” she asked Desmond.

“She didn’t say she wasn’t. I don’t have her number so I can’t check and see if she isn’t. Anyone else got it?” There was head shaking. “Altair, you got it?”

“Got what?” he hadn’t been listening.

“Ava’s number.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“We wanna know if she’s coming.”

“Oh. Well, I can’t really get to my phone right now…”

Desmond got up and walked over to the kitchen. “What are you doing in here?” he asked. Altair was basically wrist deep in cutting chicken.

“I was kinda bored last time so I’m making dinner,” Altair said.

“Woah you’re making dinner?” Clay called from the dining room.

“Is that why you were chatting up my mom?”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure she was alright with me using her kitchen and stuff.”

Desmond smiled helplessly at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t do anything I don’t wanna do,” Altair said smartly and Desmond blushed when he leaned over to add, just loud enough for Desmond to hear, “including you.”

“Yeah okay tough guy,” Desmond said, pushing his face away but blushing a little anyway. Altair just smirked. “So, where’s your phone so I can text Ava?”

Altair turned his butt to Desmond, “Back pocket.”

Desmond fished it out and maybe he gave Altair a little start by squeezing his ass for good measure. “What’s the code to open it?” Desmond asked. Altair didn’t answer right away. “Don’t trust me?”

“I mean I got stuff on there,” Altair complained.

“Or you can get chicken juice on it,” Desmond rose a brow at him. “I’m not gonna look in it. I just wanna check in with Ava.”

Altair groaned. “Three six eight eight,” he said. Desmond put in the PIN and the phone opened up. His wallpaper was him, Ezio, and Malik all grinning at the camera. That was a nice picture. Desmond accessed his messenger and it took him a second to figure it out. “Why don’t any of your contacts have real names?” Desmond asked him. Altair had a different nickname for everyone that wasn’t their actual name. Desmond could guess who each one was though. Best Friend, OTHER Best Friend, Lion, Lolita, Jed, Yo-yo, to name a few, and around the top was Desmond as ‘Miles’. “And how come mine is so fucking lame?” he demanded.

“In case my gramps sees,” Altair shrugged.

“I guess,” Desmond said but was still bummed about it. “Can I change it?” Altair made an annoyed noise. “Nothing incriminating.” He promised.

“To what?” Altair asked.

“I was thinking Dungeon Master.”

Altair stared, sputtered, and ended in a full body laugh. Desmond just grinned. “Yeah, sure. You can change it to that,” Altair said, practically crying he was laughing so hard.

“What’s so funny, Altair?” Clay called.

“Mind your business!” Altair called back.

“Yeah Clay,” Desmond heard Lucy say.

“I like knowing stuff, though,” Clay said weakly.

Desmond leaned against the counter and first texted Aveline about if she was still coming over. Then after taking a few seconds to figure out Altair’s layout on his Droid he found the contacts app and his name. He changed it to what he’d asked Altair, showed it to him to make sure he still approved and closed the phone. He put the phone on the counter top to wait for Aveline to text back. “So what are you making for dinner?”

“Surprise.”

“Altair,” he groaned.

“Don’t complain,” Altair scolded him lightly.

“Fine,” Desmond sighed. He poked around in the bags and other things he’d brought but Desmond couldn’t make heads or tails of the stuff Altair had brought. Desmond could make cereal and scrambled eggs and that was about the limit of his culinary knowledge. Desmond liked food and eating but god he was just _awful_ at cooking it.

Aveline texted back quickly and Desmond picked up Altair’s phone to look at it. “Hey Shaun,” Desmond said.

“What?”

“Aveline wanted to ask if she could bring Malik, just to watch?”

“Uhhhhhg. Another bystander?” Shaun cast a furtive glance at Altair who was loading the chicken he’d cut up into a gallon bag.

“You can say no, dude. But I doubt she’ll come around if you say no,” Desmond shrugged.

“Don’t leave us without another way to heal, Shaun,” Lucy told him sternly. “Desmond can’t do it all himself all the time.”

“I mean we have a _healer_!” Shaun cried. “Clay is literally a cleric, he is the healer class. Not my fault he never fucking heals.”

“I don’t mind healing,” Desmond put in.

“Not like we couldn’t have an easier time if literally our entire team didn’t have to take healing spells to pick up the slack,” Shaun gave Clay a dirty look.

“What? How was I supposed to know being a cleric would be hella lame? You gotta be nice all the time and everything,” Clay groaned. “There’s a reason I’m multi-classing in fighter.”

“Uhg,” Shaun was disgusted in him.

“So is that a yes or no for Aveline bringing Malik?” Desmond asked him.

Shaun sighed. “He can come,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Great. I’ll tell her,” Desmond said and texted Aveline back.

“Shaun gets nervous when people watch him DM?” Altair asked Desmond.

“Just people he doesn’t know,” Desmond shrugged.

“Oh. Well, I can keep Malik busy for the most part if he makes Shaun nervous. Though knowing Malik he’ll just sit and watch quietly the entire time. He’s _super_ into this. He’s real excited for Saturday.”

Desmond smiled. “Good. I’m glad.” Aveline responded. “She said she’ll be here in ten. Any news on Rebecca,” he called around.

“Nope,” Shaun said.

“Can I help?” Desmond asked Altair.

“And ruin my fun? Absolutely not,” Altair said and Desmond rolled his eyes at him. “You’ll help by eating it when I’m done.”

“That’s my favorite way to help,” Desmond said cheerfully.

“This is something I’m well aware of,” Altair chuckled. He was cutting open jalapeño now and taking out the seeds. Desmond had no idea what he was doing.

“Will it ruin the surprise if I stay and watch?”

“Probably.”

“You’re such a spoiled sport,” Desmond whined. Altair just bumped his hip into Desmond’s and he left the kitchen. He went back to the table and pulled out Gerard’s sheet and rooted around in the figurine box for him and Wisteria so Aveline wouldn’t have to when she showed up.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. Desmond got up and was greeted by Aveline in incredibly fuschia sweats, a yellow tank top, and her natural hair pulled off to the side in a very eighties style side ponytail. “How do you make even lazy clothes look like you spent at least ten minutes getting dressed?” Desmond asked, staring at her.

“She did spend ten minutes getting dressed,” and Desmond started a little. He knew Malik had come with her but he hadn’t seen him off to the side.

“Malik,” she waved her hand at him in annoyance. “Don’t listen to him Des. He’s just grumpy.”

“Oh,” Desmond let them in.

Malik looked at the group at the table then his head turned to where he heard Altair making dinner. He made a b-line for there. “He’s… bigger up close,” Shaun said nervously as Aveline and Desmond sat down.

“He’s a lineman, Shaun,” Desmond rolled his eyes at him.

“He definitely is bigger up close,” Aveline agreed. That made Clay and Desmond laugh. Shaun’s still sunburned face turned even redder.

“ _Why_ do you encourage them?” Lucy asked Aveline.

“I mean I figured I should make the obvious joke before Clay did,” Aveline said with a shrug. “And can I say; Arab boys can get it. Don’t you think so Des?” she asked him sweetly.

“Uh— Yeah?”

“Oi, we’re right here and can hear you,” Altair said.

“We’re complimenting you. Unless you wanna disagree?” she asked them.

Altair and Malik shared a look. “Nah, we agree,” Malik said and everyone chuckled.

“Alright!” Shaun said, “Since everyone is here-

“Where’s Becca?”

“Family stuff. She’ll show up when she can,” Shaun told Aveline. “But since everyone is here let’s get started. I came up with the perfect death trap.”

“You say that every time, Shaun,” Lucy said.

“Well _this time_ it’ll work,” Shaun said proudly.

“Sure,” Lucy said, not believing him even a little.

“Everyone got their stuff? Anyone need some extra dice?” Desmond asked. “Oh, right, Ava,” he put Wisteria’s figurine down in front of her as she was grabbing for the box of them.

“Thanks,” she said and collected her character sheet and checked everything over.

“Alright. Since we’re set. Time to start,” Shaun said, getting nods from everyone. “You’re at Fort Farrunner after your last harrowing adventure. You’ve got some downtime. What do you want to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	96. Chapter 96

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like 90% of this chapter is brought to you by rampakslue
> 
> FUCKING DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

After so long on this trail it was finally time to face this menace. Gerard knew they had to get to the bottom of this and rescue those poor children from whatever sadistic mind had decided to take them. Amelia had gone off ahead for hours before finally coming back, white as a ghost and covered in a cold sweat.

“Illithid,” she said, eyes wide. “They're doing something to the children down in a ravine.”

“Illithid? What's an Illithid?” Wisteria asked in her sweet little country accent.

“Mind flayer,” Gerard said. “They are very dangerous. Especially in groups. How many did you see, Amelia?”

“At least a dozen, maybe more,” she said. Her hands were shaking. “There was something else with them but I couldn't see it. They had it kept in a cage.”

“More captives?” Gerard asked.

“If it was it's too big to be human. I couldn't get a good look at it but it was large and there was more than one. It isn't just Illithid down there either. I saw Duergar and a- a- a basilisk. They had it on a leash like a pet.”

“Any idea what they're doing with the children?” Marco asked, hands tightening on his belt.

“I couldn't tell. The ravine blocked what I could easily see. This was just what I could see without exposing myself.”

Gerard frowned. “Well, mind flayers or not we're honor bound to go down there and rescue those children. If Illithid are going above ground to take human children it isn't for anything good and we don't want them to complete whatever plan they have in store.”

“Agreed,” Amelia said. “We've never fought mind flayers before,” there was trepidation in her voice.

“I believe in us,” Gerard said firmly. 

“I wish we knew what was going on down there before we just run in,” Wisteria said.

“We could ask a god,” Amelia said. “Gods know everything and Marco is good at getting his to answer him.”

“We ain't on great speaking terms right now-

“Would you just try at least? We could use the help.”

Marco sighed. “Alright.” He walked away from the group and sat down on the stone floor and closed his eyes. He sat there for a few minutes and when he opened his eyes he looked grim but also victorious. “They spoke to me,” he said. “They told me what the Illithid are doing. They said-

“That it's time for dinner so clear the table,” Altair said. Perfect comedic timing. Desmond didn't know how he had such perfect timing.

“Let's hear what the god said first,” Aveline said.

“Yeah so we can dread it while we eat dinner,” Lucy groaned.

Shaun chuckled. “I mean now or later the answer is the same.”

“Oh just tell us already,” Lucy sighed. 

“They're trying to see if human minds can be manipulated in the way Duergar can be, but at a greater distance so they can have agents above ground. They're trying to make a human hive brain. They know children learn better than adults and want to know if they can be molded into workable mind slaves but still retain their humanity in appearance.”

“That's disgusting,” Lucy said.

“Oh yeah,” Shaun said.

“Good thing we're gonna kill them then,” Desmond said. “So, what's for dinner?” he asked Altair as everyone cleared away the table of their stuff to have room to eat.

Altair just brought it out. “Woah!” Clay said as he put a platter down. It had chicken tenders on it. But homemade chicken tenders that looked better than any you could buy. That explained the crackling sound they'd heard earlier of Altair frying them. He put down even more food too. There was home made tator tots with cheese and herbs mixed in and jalapeño poppers wrapped in, what Desmond assumed was turkey bacon. He'd also made beef hot dog pigs in a blanket and spinach dip with slices of baguette. There was also a salad dressed with tomatoes, red onions, and croutons. It was a total kid meal but no one was complaining. 

“You made all this?” Shaun asked.

“Yeah,” Altair shrugged like it was no big deal. “Nothing too fancy, just some fun stuff really. This is probably the other reason Malik wanted to come over. He knew I was cooking,” he laughed.

“Don't blow up my spot, Altair,” Malik said, sounding annoyed. He had plates for everyone and handed them out along with tongs for use. “I got a reputation to maintain,” he said while everyone helped themselves. Altair went back into the kitchen and came out with literally a pitcher of, what looked like, home made limeade.

“Dude, the hell,” Clay said.

“I told you, I was bored,” Altair shrugged. He set the jug down with some cups.

Altair squeezed in next to Desmond at the table with his own plate. There was plenty to go around. “This was really sweet,” Desmond told him while everyone happily munched on chicken or poppers or pigs in a blanket. Aveline and Lucy were the only ones who bothered to start with a salad like reasonable human beings.

“It wasn't a bother,” Altair said. “I enjoyed myself while you guys played. And now I get to come in at the exciting part without having to listen to you guys fumble around in the Underdark.”

Desmond snorted. “Yeah that's for sure,” Desmond agreed. “Shaun, it didn't look like the Illithids were moving at any great speed, were they?”

“No. They were just working.”

“Do you think we could spare a long rest? Me and Wisteria are kinda burnt on higher level spells.”

“If you want. Those kids are still in danger.”

“We can't leave them there anymore than we have to,” Lucy said.

“I'm not saying we do that,” Desmond said. “I just only have five points of lay on hands left and only level two slots for cure wounds.”

“We have a cleric,” Lucy said.

Desmond grabbed Clay’s spell sheet. “He's got one fifth level spell left for healing. That isn't enough. We need to camp out for a few hours and rest up and- “ He stopped at a knocking. “Uh?” Desmond got and went to get the door.

“Sorry I'm so late!” Rebecca cried when he opened the door.

“Becca!” Lucy and Clay both called.

“Just in time to fight a bunch of mind flayers,” Aveline said sarcastically.

“Can I punch them?” Rebecca asked as she found a place to sit.

“Yes,” Clay said.

“Then bring it. Naga wants to punch some shit! And there's food? Awesome. Where'd you order from?”

“I made it,” Altair said.

That was the first time Rebecca noticed the two jocks at the table. “Holy shit,” she said, mouth full of chicken tender. “So what did I miss?” They filled Rebecca in on what had happened and what Lucy had seen in the ravine. When they were done Rebecca’s eyes were wide. “Well, that’s some shit huh?”

“Yeah. We stopped for dinner,” Clay said. “And to plan.”

“We need to take a long rest,” Desmond said.

“But those kids-!”

“Me, Clay and Ava, have no spells left. If we don’t sleep we’re going in without backup. Lucy doesn’t have more spell uses on her bow either,” he added. “The Illithid aren’t just gonna start shit right away. We don’t even know if they’re close to completing their task. Shaun’s an ass but he wouldn’t make a time table so tight he wouldn’t give us an actual fighting chance.”

“He is trying to kill us,” Clay said.

“He says that every time he DMs, though,” Aveline said. “I think he just likes the threat.”

“I guess,” Rebecca said. “I still have all my abilities and spells right?”

“Yeah,” Clay nodded. “You’re the only one with spells and while Naga is super cool I don’t think she can take on a camp of Illithid, a basilisk, and whatever else is in those cages, by herself without some buffing.”

“Mmm. Yeah,” she agreed. “Okay. We’ll rest. Can we play now?” she asked impatiently.

“There’s still dinner on the table,” Shaun huffed. “Maybe you ate before you got here but the rest of us haven’t eaten since lunch.”

“Sorry. I just wanna be distracted,” Rebecca said.

“Everything alright?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah just… yeah it’s fine,” Rebecca smiled but it was sort of strained. “Nothing bad,” she promised.

They finished dinner with mild conversation and at some point Altair took Desmond’s character sheet to look over it. Desmond’s sheet was very in depth since he had a level sixteen paladin, almost level seventeen. He was the highest level character in their party since he got so much bonus role playing exp early on in their game. All his sheets were in plastic coverings and he wrote temporary things on them in dry erase marker and he had a spell sheet of his usual spells and one for his mount and had some old pictures he’d printed off the internet as references. All his friends had similar treatments to their character sheets with varying ways they went about it. Lucy and Clay liked having spell cards and Rebecca’s sister, a graphic designer, had made her a _sick_ custom character sheet that existed on her phone and she wrote temporary information on a paper she kept with her. 

“Yours is way nicer than mine,” Altair said after a few minutes. Desmond snorted.

“I’ve also been playing for almost three years,” Desmond said.

“He’s pretty badass,” Altair said.

“Thank you,” Desmond said, puffing up a bit.

“You’re bringing him at a lower level to Saturday?”

“Yeah. I figured I’d bring him in at level five to help you easily breakable level twos,” Desmond chuckled. “That way everyone can get some heals. If I brought him as he is he’d be like a _god_ to them.”

“Heh. Maybe you should? Ezio thinks it’s kinda silly still and Yusuf’s been talking shit. Might be nice to show off how cool high level characters are.”

“Mmmm, maybe. I’ll talk to Leo about it. I don’t want to break his campaign by rolling high twenties on all my checks.”

“Wouldn’t be hard to imagine Gerard wants to humble some of the smack talking Ezio and Malik’s characters are doing-

“Hey! You are the worst offender of smack talk,” Malik protested across the table.

“Am I talking to you?” Altair asked him in a sweet, sarcastic, manner.

“No you're talking about me so it's worse.”

“Ava be a dear and kiss him to shut him up.” That made Aveline laugh.

“Heh, I’ll talk to Leo about it,” Desmond promised. Altair nodded and handed him his sheet back. 

They finished eating and cleared the table. Altair dragged Malik away to help him clean up while they finished planning the assault on the Illithid camp. Everyone agreed, though with some hesitance, to take a long rest. Rebecca volunteered to take first watch. Then they got up and made their way to the ravine where Lucy had found the Illithid. They decided to follow the trail along the side of the ravine to get some space away from the camp so they could get down easier. None of them had any sort of flight and no one wanted to waste spells on getting down there. They did have climbing gear. They were rolling athletic and acrobatics checks when Altair and Malik came back from the kitchen and joined them at the table again.

After a few close calls, Gerard almost falling off the side of the cliff to his probable death the largest offender, they made it down to the bottom of the ravine. Amelia cast pass without a trace on the whole of them and they stealthed closer to the camp. Now closer the characters with dark vision could see just _what_ was in those cages.

“Oh fuck you,” Clay said when Shaun told them what Amelia’s ridiculous perception check picked up. Desmond groaned into his hands.

“What? What’s so bad about beholders?” Malik asked.

“They’re giant floating eyeballs that negate magic and shoot magic out of their tentacle eyeball stalks,” Shaun explained.

“I… don’t understand how that’s terrible,” Malik said.

“Everyone here except Rebecca uses magic to either buff themselves, or attack. Even Clay here will have trouble attacking a beholder with the damage he’s used to.”

“Some of the eye stalks can also kill you basically instantly,” Desmond said. “And this deep in the Underdark if one of us goes down we’re basically shit out of luck. Especially if it’s Clay since he can revive people from death. You _did_ bring revivify right?”

“Of course I brought revivify,” Clay said, insulted. “I might not like cleric but I’m not an asshole. I always bring revivify and cure wounds _just in case_.”

“Oh, thank god,” Desmond said.

“Though if I wanted to use the other reviving spells we’d need to sleep.”

“How the hell do they have beholders in a cage?” Rebecca asked. “Aren’t they sentient and incredibly powerful and/or dangerous as fuck? Did Amelia see if they were awake?”

“They were not awake,” Shaun said. “Or the one you saw was not awake.”

“Where’s the other one again?”

“About twenty feet past it.”

“Can I roll to see if that one is awake?”

“You can.”

Rebecca rolled. “I saw shit. I’m a dwarf and suddenly can’t see in the dark.”

That made the table laugh. “What did you roll?” Aveline asked.

“A two, plus four I still didn’t see shit.”

“Yeah, you saw nothing,” Shaun agreed with a chuckle. “So you guys are almost at the edge of the Illithid camp. Stealthed. What do you want to do?”

After a bit of bickering it was decided that Wisteria would go ahead in earth elemental form in the ground and start knocking down rocks onto the camp while the rest of the party split up to attack on two sides. One healer with each of their DPS players who would offer cover fire for their CQC players since Marco could use an enchanted crossbow they had. Shaun looked very annoyed when they realized that they had said enchanted crossbow in Gerard’s bag of holding and extra annoyed when it turned out Marco was _proficient_ with crossbows. Shaun had forgotten that Marco had used crossbows exclusively in the early game before he got a morning star that did fire damage on impact and before he started multi classing as a fighter and could now use swords with greater efficiency.

Plan in place Gerard was paired with Amelia and they ghosted to the other side of the camp along the wall of the ravine to get into position. They would give Wisteria a minute or so to start throwing boulders before attacking. They waited. Shaun had Aveline roll a few strength checks, not _quite_ Wisteria’s strong suit, to make sure she could do this and wisdom checks to make sure she didn’t hit the children. Then it was a whole bunch of dice rolling to see how many boulders she could break off from the wall and which ones hit. One chunk of rock ended up killing two Illithid on a natural twenty roll to hit before the Illithid started to get angry and notice. In the end Wisteria managed to damage one of the cages holding one of the beholders, kill two Illithid, almost crush a child, and break parts of the camp. Then the others got to roll for initiative.

Then, like most good D&D plans, the plan very quickly went to shit. One of the beholders almost immediately escaped thanks to its damaged cage and started flinging eye rays. The Illithid fought to get the beholder under control again with the basilisk and the other beholder basically screamed the entire time. This wasn’t a fight they wanted to be apart of. Thankfully they all had gate stones, that allowed them to communicate over distance, that they wore like dog tags. They quickly came up with a new plan amid the chaos of dodging eye beams and pissed off Illithid. They were just going to grab the kids and _book it_. They would send a larger force from Fort Farrunner down here to deal with these Illithid and not just the six of them.

The rest of the session was them trying to get to the kids and get out, having to fight a few Illithid along the way and slaughtering the basilisk before it fully petrified Marco. They wounded the beholder and by the time they were getting out they’d blown most of their spells again and each of them was running with a kid in their arms. Wisteria had a few on her back thanks to her secondary elemental beast shape.

The Illithid chased them down the ravine until Wisteria had them stop and using one of her last spells she created a huge, thick, rock dome over the entire party. It bought them enough time to catch their breath, regain some much needed hit points, and figure out what to do. All the while the Illithid banged on their rock dome. They needed either some divine intervention or Wisteria to pull an amazing use of a spell out of her ass to get out of this since there were about thirty Illithid outside of the rock dome.

“Clay, pray to your stupid god,” Lucy said.

“I did that already today!” Clay said.

“You did it last long rest pray to your god to help us.”

“I don’t know what they could do but-

“Dude, your god is literally the god of luck,” Desmond said. “If anyone could get us out of this it’s the fucking god of luck.”

Clay groaned. “Okay. I’ll try,” Clay said. “So I’m casting divine intervention.”

“Anything in particular you want to happen?” Shaun asked.

“Either something that teleports us, or something to help us with these fucking Illithid.”

“Heh. Alright. Roll two d-tens and tell me what you get.”

Clay rolled the first one, “One?”

“Okay, roll the other. You need a five or lower.”

“Shit… shit… I really don’t wanna. What if I roll a six?” he asked.

“Just roll the damn dice, Clay,” Lucy said, grabbing his shoulder and rocking him back and forth.

Clay rolled the dice. “Four,” he said and looked about to melt in relief.

“And what do you say to the Great and Powerful Wuss?”

“Really? Wuss? That’s the name of your god?” Malik asked.

“You shut up, my god is fucking awesome,” Clay said, too wired on nerves to realize who he was talking to. Lucy was still clinging to his arm. “And uh- uhm. I say. I say… Look, Wuss, I know we haven’t been on great terms lately. But I really need some help right now. I promise if you get me out of this I’ll put more levels into cleric-

“Clay,” Shaun growled.

“Okay, no I don’t say that. I say— Actually, I pull my holy symbol out of my pocket.”

“You pull your double headed coin out of your pocket. It’s glowing and warm in your hand, pleasant to the touch,” Shaun said.

“I say— tails says you don’t help me out. Then I flip the coin,” Clay said.

“You flip the coin. For a moment it appears, to you at least, to turn in slow motion. It lands in your open palm and you immediately smack it to the top of your other hand. Everyone is looking at you and at your hand. Even the kids you helped are watching. You take your hand off?”

“Yeah,” Clay squeaked.

“It’s a double headed coin Clay, it’s on heads,” Shaun laughed at him.

“I dunno man! Wuss can do shit, you know he can!”

“The coin is on heads. You breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then you hear Wuss’ voice in your ear. ‘Just cause I like you, Marco. And I expect those cleric levels’. All of you are immediately surrounded by a divine glow. It lifts you up off the ground a few inches. You feel empowered as the light dims and you drop the few inches back to the ground. You all got very lucky. Wuss restored all your hit points _and_ spell slots.”

“Holy shit,” Desmond said. “This is why you have a cleric around!” Clay himself looked about to pass out and was clutching his heart.

“Sooo…” Aveline said. “I’m going to stone shape and blast us a tunnel to get us the fuck out of here. I am willing to spend as many high level spells as I need to to get us either to the top of the ravine or as high as I can go.”

“Alright,” Shaun said. “Anyone else?”

“I’m keeping the kids close,” Desmond said. “Are they scared?”

“They’re terrified,” Shaun grinned.

“Okay Shaun how do I do this to get us out of here?” Aveline asked. They talked it through and Naga punched the tunnel wall enough to just collapse the tunnel after them for good measure so the Illithid couldn’t come after them. Shaun did some rolling before allowing Wisteria to just waste a bunch of higher level spells to cast stone shape as much as she wanted. As soon as they were on top of the ravine Amelia cast pass without a trace on everyone again and Gerard summoned his mount, an elk that a bunch of the kids could ride. Wisteria beast shaped into something that could hold more of the kids and they just _ran_. They had Naga collapse the tunnel behind them again.

“It takes you a few hours but you eventually leave through the same crack in the earth you originally descended into. The sun is just setting. Somehow you managed to rescue most of the taken kids. What are you going to do now?”

“Take the kids back to their parents,” Desmond said immediately.

“I need a drink,” Clay groaned. “Marco needs a drink and _I_ need a drink. Holy shit.” That made the table laugh.

Shaun wrapped up the campaign rather neatly. He was disappointed he hadn’t TPK’d them but the lucky save with divine intervention he was mostly mollified by the good story telling. “Don’t be so dramatic Clay. You leveled up.”

“I what?” Clay asked.

“What about us?” Rebecca asked.

“Sorry, not yet. Well… he might level up actually, or he might not. Which class you leveling, Clay?”

“Cleric,” Clay said.

“Yeap, you leveled up.”

“Oh geeze. Oh _geeeeeze_. I will deal with leveling later,” Clay got up and walked around the table a little. “That was the scariest roll of this entire campaign,” he said.

“You’re so over dramatic,” Lucy said.

“We all would have been dead if I hadn’t rolled low!” Clay cried.

“Well you did. Wuss was on your side you lucky asshole,” Desmond said.

“It is really late,” Aveline said. “I need to go home. My mom’s been texting me, making sure I’m still at your house, Desmond.” Malik rolled his eyes at that.

“Could be your dad texting you,” Desmond pointed out.

“Oh I am aware of that nightmare. C’mon Mal.”

“You don’t help clean up?”

Aveline looked at them questioningly. “It’s fine,” Desmond said. “It just goes into my room anyway.”

“Thanks for the fun guys. Can’t wait till next week.”

“What about Saturday?” Malik asked her.

“Yeah. Really looking forward to Ezio’s psion hitting on my warlock,” she huffed. “Bye,” and she waved. Everyone waved back or said bye and she dragged Malik out.

The rest of Desmond’s friends didn’t stay much longer than that. They packed up their sheets and Clay was still walking around the house from that roll. Lucy eventually pushed him out the door and Desmond heard Rebecca and Shaun making plans of Rebecca not going home and just staying over at Shaun’s up the Keys to avoid whatever the fuck was going on at her house. Soon it was just Desmond and Altair who helped him take his stuff into his room again.

“Enjoy yourself?”

“Yeah. It was real fun,” Altair said. 

“It is late, and you shouldn’t be here when my parents come home,” Desmond said.

“Aww.”

“I know. You’re so deprived,” Desmond said sarcastically.

“Do I get a goodnight kiss at least?” Altair teased him.

“Yes. Yes you sure as fuck do,” Desmond said and Altair laughed even as Desmond threw his arms around Altair’s neck and kissed him deeply. The laugh turned into a groan and before Desmond knew how Altair had him pressed up against the wall and they were making out. It was so completely awesome. By the way Altair’s hands felt on his torso he knew Altair wanted more than just making out but that wasn’t happening tonight.

They did end up making out for ten minutes or so before Desmond managed to get a word in. “You really need to go home.”

“Uhg. Seriously?”

“I didn’t clear a sleepover with the parents. So yes.” Altar still groaned in annoyance. “I’ll see you literally tomorrow.”

“Yeah but tomorrow we’ll be at school. Right now I have you all to myself,” Altair said and his hand ran up Desmond back, under his shirt.

“Uh—“ Desmond’s brain stopped for a second. He coughed to gather his composure again. “I can hang out after school tomorrow. Now really-

“Okay. Okay. I get it,” Altair sighed. He kissed Desmond again and it made butterflies burst into existence in his stomach. “Wanna see me out?”

“Sure, yeah,” Desmond said. Honestly he was kinda dazed by all this and how great Altair was. 

Altair grabbed the stuff he’d brought with him and Desmond walked him to the door. Altair kissed him _again_. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight,” Desmond said.

“Hopefully Leo’s session will be half as entertaining as that,” Altair said with a slight grin and then walked to his car. He put his stuff in the car and then got in and left. Desmond closed the door and leaned his shoulder into it, sagging a little. Holy _shit_. He shook himself and went to get ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	97. Chapter 97

Altair still a bit of a pavlovian response to flinch internally when Mr. Miles answered the door when Altair visited. He knew Mr. Miles was super chill and cool about Desmond’s sexuality but too many bad coming out stories he’d read on the internet or in fanfic still made him flinch. Mr. Miles looked right at him but his expression was that of not knowing who Altair even was. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Uh… yeah? I’m here to pick Desmond up for the D&D game,” Altair said awkwardly.

Recognition dawned in Mr. Miles’ eyes. “Right. I’ll go get him,” he said. “You want to come in?”

“No, thank you. I’ll just be waiting in my car,” Altair said and was glad when he could retreat as Mr. Miles went back inside. Altair climbed back into his car and waited, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He didn’t have to wait long. Just a few minutes when Desmond came out and made a b-line for his car. He opened the back door and put his bag of goodies in there and then got into the front seat.

“Hey,” Desmond said, all smiles for him.

“Hey,” Altair said.

“Ready for some fun?”

“I guess-

“Don’t be such a sourpuss, Altair!” Desmond groaned.

“That’s kinda my M.O.,” Altair smirked.

“Yeah yeah,” Desmond flapped his hand at him and Altair pulled away from the house. “Since you’re a wet blanket how about the others?”

“Leo was practically bouncing off the walls when he showed up and Malik told me he woke up early, realized he was being ridiculous and went back to sleep,” he chuckled at Desmond’s face. “And Leo yammering about it convinced Yusuf to come watch at least. I think Leo is making him make a character anyway just in case he changes his mind mid way through.”

“It’s just D&D,” Desmond said.

“Yeah but they’ve never done it before. They’re excited,” Altair said and took the on ramp that would get them to Key West.

“Uh… where are we going? Aren’t we going to Ezio’s?”

“We decided we didn’t want Ezio’s little siblings bothering us and I’ve got the only house with a table big enough for everyone who wants to play or watch,” Altair shrugged.

“ _Oh_ ,” Desmond nodded. “That makes sense I guess. Ezio isn’t gonna argue rules with Leo is he?”

“Probably not. Ezio just did that with you cause he’s a piece of shit. Leo’s his best friend.”

“ _Great_ ,” Desmond rolled his eyes. They arrived at Altair’s house shortly after and Altair grabbed Desmond’s bag before he could. “Altair-

“Just c’mon,” Altair said and gave Desmond a nice, small, shove forward to get him to go. He shouldered the duffle and Desmond went inside. Altair led Desmond to the dining room which he’d never really been in. Leo and Malik were already there.

“Hey, Desmond!” Leo said cheerfully and waved.

“Hi,” Desmond said.

“Come sit by me,” Leo beckoned him. Desmond made a sound like a laugh on an exhale and went and sat next to Leo. Altair put his bag in the chair next to Desmond’s and sat on the other side. Leo immediately launched into talk, realized what he was doing then looked at him and Malik, “Don’t listen,” he ordered.

“Why not?” Malik asked just to be confrontational.

“We’re gonna talk about the session. Unless you _want_ spoilers?” Desmond said.

“Uhg, fine,” Malik said and got up. Altair went with him and they moved out of the area they could hear Leo and Desmond talking.

“Ezio say when he and Yusuf were showing up?” Altair asked Malik as they sat on the living room couch.

“Like in half an hour,” Malik said with a shrug. “Aveline will be over soon, though. She wants to get out of the house cause apparently her dad is giving her a hard time about coming over to a stranger’s house full of boys he doesn’t know including her boyfriend with no parental supervision.”

“She tell him half the boys there are gay?”

“Haytham’s one of those ‘I don’t care if gays are a thing I just don’t wanna see them,’ kinda people.”

“Oh, you mean a homophobe,” Altair said dryly, opening his phone.

“Not _really_? Like yeah but I think he’s just like that with everyone. Apparently he doesn’t even kiss Ziio in front of their kids.”

“That’s fucking _weird_ ,” Altair said.

“It is,” Malik agreed. “So I don’t think telling him she’s going to play DnD with a bunch of gays would just make him have a straight panic.”

Altair snorted. “Oh _no_ Aveline might be exposed to a healthy relationship _whatever_ will he dooooo?” That made Malik laugh too.

Altair went back to his phone and they waited for either someone else to show up or for Desmond and Leo to say they could listen. Aveline came over first and Altair was so glad he had his phone because the two of them were disgusting and sweet. As if specifically to spite her dad Aveline made out with Malik after they had said hello. Thankfully Desmond and Leo had finished up their talking so Altair could escape back to the dining room. Ezio showed up shortly after that with Yusuf in tow. Yusuf looked utterly uninterested in all of this but he was here at least.

“Is there food at least?” Yusuf asked.

“Yusuf, this is Altair’s house; there’s always food,” Ezio said.

“Yeah but can I have some?”

“Yes,” Altair said with a roll of his eyes.

“Thanks, bro,” and Yusuf left the table and wandered out to the kitchen while they sent Ezio to go get Aveline and Malik.

Once gathered around the table Desmond handed them all their figurines they’d picked out last time and pulled out his own character sheet. Altair glanced over it at it. It was his paladin, Gerard, at fifth level. Altair knew enough about DnD so far to know that it looked… off but he didn’t know how.

“Everyone ready?” Leo asked. Yusuf was still in the kitchen. But everyone else seemed ready and it wasn’t like Yusuf was playing so who cared. “Great! So after your last adventure, which was-

“Shitty,” Malik said and that made everyone laugh. It had been pretty shitty for them since nearly everyone had almost died except for Aveline. Honestly her and her warlock were the only reason some of them were still alive.

“That’s a way to say it, yeah,” Leo grinned. Leo must have had a script prepared for the beginning part because he kept looking at it. “And some of you have realized, ‘oh shit, adventuring is hard’. When you returned to Fort Farrunner you’ve spoken with the captain who commands the fort. He took one look at the group of you when you came back all busted and tired and laughed. He said that the next time you take a job you should ask one of the more veterans to accompany you to help avoid death.”

“Wow, what a great idea,” Ezio said sarcastically and they all looked at Desmond who just grinned cheekily.

“So now you’ve had that wisdom from the captain and you’re going to spend a few days at the fort, resting up and resupplying. What do you wanna do?”

“Can I buy a new dress?” Aveline asked.

“Yes,” Leo said and everyone sort of groaned.

Eventually they got out of shopping and supplying and picked out a job on the board. Or rather, Leo told them which job they were doing. Once they had it they returned to the captain to ask about getting a veteran to join them. The captain was obviously an asshole because he just rolled his eyes and told them to go ask someone who looked tough. That was, of course, how they met Gerard, the big friendly paladin and his elk mount Tobias. Altair didn’t appreciate how friendly Desmond played his paladin until he was playing with his friends since Desmond played him differently with his own. Altair knew paladins were usually friendly and always lawful good but he didn’t really realize what that meant until they had an actual lawful good character in their party full of neutrals and chaotics (since playing lawful good was hard).

They set out on their mission, a simple fetch quest to retrieve some mcguffin from a priest in a temple on a mountain a few days ride away. Along the way they ran into bandits, and squishy rogue Malik almost died except Gerard was there to heal him. They also met a group of war-like gnomes that looked tough enough to worry Altair. Everyone else wanted to kill the gnomes but Gerard knew gnomish and talked it out of them. They received a fuck ton of exp for that too, which was surprising. He did a quick tally and realized they’d made more exp from talking their way through an encounter then if they’d actually fought the gnomes.

Once they’d gotten through to the temple they found out the priest had gone mad and started raising the dead as a necromancer. So they had skeletons to fight. Most of them went down with one or two hits but there were a _lot_ of them. Once they got past the skeleton hoard they found that the temple was laden with traps which took a one triggering to remind Malik he was a rogue and needed to do his rogue shit. That took them the majority of their time in the temple. Eventually, they got to the priest who was guarding the mcguffin, a holy tome. They fought the boss, got some cool loot off his body- mainly a ring that gave a plus one to spell DC, which was given to Aveline’s warlock- and some gold. Then, because Altair’s friends were assholes, they decided to loot the temple too. They had Altair basically drag Gerard out of the temple so he wouldn’t see and stop them since, to no one’s fucking surprise, the two had gotten along pretty well during the trip here. That and Desmond rolled a really bad deception saving throw against Altair and followed him out.

Then the mission was over and they all headed back to Fort Farrunner. “And that’s where we’re ending it cause I got to go to work,” Desmond said, checking his phone.

“What? We can’t do another?” Malik complained.

“That was all Leo had prepared,” Desmond said. “Which was really fucking good for a first DMing. If you wanted he could do it on the fly maybe but you wouldn’t have a healer. Or did Gerard not heal you enough to make it obvious; you want a healer?”

“I guess,” Malik grumbled but didn’t complain anymore.

“That was really fun,” Aveline said cheerfully. “I’m glad we did it a second time. I like playing a warlock.”

They cleaned up the stuff and Desmond put everything back in his bag. “Okay now I really gotta get back home to change before work,” Desmond said and looked at Altair.

“Oh! I’ll take you home,” Leo said helpfully. “That way I can talk to you about what next without these guys listening,” he gave them all an evil eye.

“Hmm, I guess that would be alright,” Desmond said.

“Great!” Leo hopped up.

Altair walked them out. “See you tomorrow?” Desmond asked Altair.

“I’ll let you know. I might be busy,” Altair said.

“Okay. Bye then,” and he gave Altair a soft kiss on the lips. It made him smile. Leo looked about ready to drag Desmond away so Altair let them go.

His friends were all waiting for him when he got back and sat at the table. “So what did you wanna talk about after the game?” Ezio asked. He’d asked them all to stay after Desmond had left.

“I need some help with something. Ava I don’t know if you wanna stay for this.”

“Why not?” she asked him.

“Sounds like Altair is asking something… uh… rough,” Malik said.

“What? You don’t think I can handle some guy talk? Please,” she rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” Altair said. “I think someone on the football team is fucking with my boyfriend and I got a short list of which asshole it is.”

“What? When did this happen?” Malik asked.

“Earlier this week.”

“How do you know it was one of them?”

“Cause they’re the only idiots in the school who care I came out,” Altair huffed. Thankfully he wasn’t on the team officially anymore but he still used the locker room with them for practices. There had definitely been some unhappy faces when it had finally gotten around that Altair was now in a relationship with another guy. Straight guys were so fucking weird.

“What happened?” Aveline asked.

“They taped a faggot sign to Desmond’s back.”

“What the fuck? Is this sixth grade or something?” Ezio rolled his eyes.

“So what did you have in mind to do?” Malik asked.

“Just talk, honestly. I figure it’d mean more if there were others there.”

“You _sure_ you don’t just wanna beat them up?” Yusuf asked thoughtfully.

“I mean I _do_ ,” Altair groaned. That made Yusuf and Ezio laugh. “But I can’t just go around punching kids for shit.”

“You could,” Yusuf said. “The fuck they gonna do? Press charges? Press charges right back.”

“Yeah but I don’t _know_ who did it. So I could be punching innocent guys here.”

“Homophobes aren’t innocent,” Malik said.

“Yeah but you know what I mean,” Altair rolled his eyes.

“Who do you think did it?” Ezio asked.

“Well, at the top of the list is that shit head Albert-

“Ooooou, yeah he sucks,” Yusuf agreed.

“I’m not sure, though. He’s kinda too much of a chicken shit to actually do it knowing I’d know. Then there’s Jason, Tony, Shay, and Austin.”

“You really think it isn’t Albert?” Malik asked.

“It could be,” Altair shrugged. “I figured we could corner them after Saturday practice and talk it out-

“There gonna be punches? I want punches,” Yusuf announced.

“There _might_ be punches,” Altair said.

“Okay, I’m in,” Yusuf said. “Also Desmond’s nice. I like him.”

“He is nice and that’s so shitty someone did that,” Aveline declared. “Right Malik?” she gave him a look.

“What? I was already going as backup,” Malik said. She smiled at that.

They all looked at Ezio. “Oh, I’m the deciding vote here? Duh. ‘Course I’ll help you talk to them.”

“And?” Yusuf asked.

“And I’d be into some punches too,” Ezio grinned. That made them all laugh.

“Great. Thanks you guys,” Altair said, very relieved that they were going to be there with him. Knowing his friends it would turn out that Ezio and Yusuf did most of the talking while Altair and Malik just stood behind them looking threatening. Ezio and Yusuf were way better at talking and it _not_ turning into punches than either Altair or Malik.

“No problem. We’ll organize it more tomorrow, I’m going home for dinner,” Ezio said.

“Same,” Yusuf announced.

“And we should get you home before your dad has an aneurysm,” Malik told Aveline who groaned. Altair saw all his friends out even if Malik and Aveline did stop by Malik’s car for a little bit to make out. Gross.

Yusuf hung back a little even as Ezio drove off. “Hey, Altair,” he said before Altair could close the door.

“Hmm?”

“Sorry if this is weird but… when did you know you liked Desmond?”

“What? Why?”

“Cause I might be about to do something stupid next week.”

Altair put two and two together. “You mean what’s his name in band?” Altair couldn’t remember the guy’s name. He just knew Yusuf hung out with him _a lot_. Like about as much as Ezio and during freshman year there were about six rumors the two were gay and dating until Ezio had told everyone to fuck off. Ezio was the straightest guy Altair had ever met. Not a bad thing, just very hetero. This was the first time he’d ever heard Yusuf say anything about him also not being straight since he’d had three girlfriends before this and always said he wasn’t into dudes even though he was fine with Leo and Malik it just wasn’t his thing.

“ _Maybe_ ,” Yusuf sighed as Malik and Aveline got into separate cars and pulled out of the driveway. “I’ve never… had a crush on a dude before.”

“I mean… it shouldn’t be any different from when you knew you liked those girls you dated,” Altair said. “I guess? I dunno man I don’t like girls and Desmond is the only person I’ve ever been in love with— You didn’t hear that.”

Yusuf’s eyes widened a little. “I didn’t hear anything,” Yusuf agreed. “So no advice?”

“I’m about to sound like a shitty Hallmark movie but really; just follow your heart.” That made them both laugh fully body laughs.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. And don’t be a scaredy cat like me. Desmond _almost_ started dating another guy cause I didn’t say anything. So just go for it. What’s the worst that’ll happen? He say no?”

“I don’t wanna make it weird between us.”

“You could always ask Kaczmarek. I’m sure _he_ knows if they likes you or if he even likes guys.”

Yusuf’s brows rose. “I never thought of that. I didn’t think that kid was a resource cause he just runs the rumor mill.”

“I assure you, Clay doesn’t just know rumors; he knows everything.”

“Okay. I’ll ask him. Thanks, Altair,” he beamed at Altair. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Hopefully for some punches!” That made Altair chuckle and he waved goodbye to Yusuf and he walked to his car. Altair closed the door as he drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	98. Chapter 98

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer is a bad time of year for me. Same way people get winter depression I get summer depression and makes it hard to write.

When Desmond showed up at school he was exhausted. Sunday had been strangely exhausting. Probably because of the three hour phone call he’d had with Leo about wanting to do more D&D. The guy could make anyone exhausted with his enthusiasm. Desmond wasn’t used to that level of excitement over something. It was refreshing but holy shit Desmond wasn’t ready for it. Altair had also only texted him all weekend after the D&D game at his house. He said he just wanted some alone time since having all those people over had drained him. Desmond thought that was sort of weird. Altair was never usually drained from being with his friends and usually when he was tired that was usually when he wanted Desmond to come over. But he didn’t question it and let Altair be his fucking weird self by himself.

Desmond, again, tried to talk to Connor but the kid just gave him the cold shoulder. He didn’t know why he bothered. Connor obviously didn’t want anything to do with him or his friends anymore. It was still super annoying since Connor wouldn’t even tell Desmond he should stop bothering or to leave him alone. He just ignored him.

It had hit leading up to lunch. Altair didn’t text him during his off period and Desmond went and got lunch at the cafeteria. It was so far a pretty shittyMonday.

Shaun, Rebecca, and Lucy were already eating lunch when he showed up. “Where’s Clay?” Shaun asked.

“Huh? What, am I his keeper? You ask his girlfriend?” he gave Lucy a look.

“I don’t have class with him till the afternoon,” Lucy said.

“Guys, I have _one_ class with Clay in the morning. How the hell should I know?” Desmond sat next to Rebecca.

“No special lunch today huh?”

“Don’t be an asshole, Shaun,” Desmond grumbled and stuffed the soggy cardboard pizza into his mouth. Shaun shrugged.

They were halfway through lunch when Clay came around from one of the stairwells at nearly a full sprint, a huge fucking smile on his face. He skidded to a halt and wheezed a bit over his knees. “You alright there, mate?” Shaun asked.

“Guess what!” Clay cried in delight.

“Oh great,” Lucy said and she and Desmond both rolled their eyes. Desmond knew that look. That was the ‘I know good gossip’ look. Desmond was well acquainted with it but had seen less of it since Clay had started dating Lucy. Looked like she was not well acquainted as well.

“What?” Rebecca asked.

“Remember how I said these two guys were gay and you said ‘no Clay that’s impossible. You’re imagining stuff that isn’t there’?”

“Clay, we say that all the time, you have got to be more specific,” Shaun said.

“Yeah, you still think Ezio is in the closet,” Desmond added. “Which he _isn’t_ by the way.”

“Whatever! Doesn’t matter. What dos matter is that I was fucking _right_. I said last semester that Yusuf and Rauf were gonna be a thing-

“The fucking drum line guy?” Rebecca asked curiously.

“Drum line- no Rebecca, it’s called a drum major-

“Same thing, Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“Will you just let me talk?” Clay asked, exasperated.

“Man, you just can’t get a word in edgewise, can’t imagine how annoying _that_ is,” Desmond said sarcastically and started tearing apart his styrofoam tray.

“Okay so then I guess you don’t wanna know then?” Clay asked. Desmond knew he was acting annoying about it but actually did get upset when his friends didn’t wanna listen to what he knew.

“I do,” Lucy said. Looked like Lucy knew that too. Desmond wondered if she’d seen one of Clay’s quiet melt downs too? Clay went and sat next to her. Despite acting disinterred Shaun and Rebecca both rubbernecked to listen and Desmond leaned around behind the both of them. He heard better if he could see Clay. “What was it about them hmm?”

“Well, not _official_ ,” Clay said seriously. “But I did just have a fifteen minute conversation with Yusuf on Rauf’s sexuality. Lemmie tell you; it’s a surreal experience to have a beat up football player asking you if the guy he likes likes dick or not-

“Wait, what?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah it was crazy. I honestly expected to be wrong at this point-

“No. Yusuf got beat up?” Desmond interrupted.

“Huh? Oh, I probably exaggerated a bit. He wasn’t _really_ beat up. He was just a bit bruised but nothing serious. Unless I was wrong about the bruise on his neck. It wasn’t the right shape for a hicky.”

“Did he get into a fight or something?”

“He did. Wouldn’t tell me what for even though I did try and ask him about it. Info for info you know,” Clay shrugged. “He just said he was in a fight on Saturday with some assholes. Wouldn’t say what for. But he’s a jock and they beat each other up all the time, who cares.”

“Uh… I do,” Desmond said. “In case you forgot by boyfriend is one of Yusuf’s jock friends.”

There was a moment of silence. “Have you seen Altair today?” Clay asked.

“No,” now Desmond was worried.

“So Yusuf asked you about Rauf and what’d you tell him?” Shaun asked.

“I said I was like eighty percent sure that Rauf was queer,” Clay said. “I mean have you seen his beard? No way a guy who takes _that_ good care of facial hair at our age isn’t a bear-“ That made Rebecca howl with laughter. “And I’ve definitely seen him talk with other guys at parties. No way he isn’t some sore of queer.”

“So how much money you going to make on this?” Rebecca asked.

“Like nothing. Everyone always said I was a lunatic for insinuating this kinda stuff,” Clay shrugged. “No pool started. Not even the other kids who are usually into my crazy theories wanted in. I couldn’t even get some of the other band members to go in, or the theater kids. Theater kids always willing to bet on if someone is gonna hook up. It’s great drama-

“Oh fuck off, Clay,” Shaun groaned and Clay snickered.

The bell for next class rang. They separated for their own classes. Desmond was sort of worried when it went up to chemistry. Altair was in his seat when he got there, he had a hoodie on and was wearing it up and was talking to his desk mate, facing sort of away from the door. Desmond wanted to stop and talk but the bell rang before he could. He spent the entire class paying mostly attentioned to the teacher and the rest of the class staring at the back of Altair’s head.

Really he was worried Altair had done something dumb. Like not be able to let that stupid, juvenile, sign go and he and his friends had gone and beaten someone up. It made him extremely anxious that his boyfriend’s initial reaction was violence. Desmond wasn’t a violent guy. He didn’t want to know his boyfriend was just beating people up because of what they _could_ do.

He was never more happy for the bell that signaled next period than that one. Altair seemed so too because he got up immediatly and walked out. That just made warning sirens go off for Desmond. Altair never just _left_ chemistry. Desmond went after him and caught up to him on the upper breezeway. It was way too hot for a hoodie but Desmond was glad Altair was wearing one. He grabbed Altair by the sleeve and made him turn around. Desmond felt the blood drain out of his face.

“What happened?” he squeaked. Altair had _definitely_ gotten into a fight. He had a bit of a black eye, not enough to really make it swell shut, and a busted lip.

“Hmm?”

“I know you’re not deaf or dumb, Altair. Your face,” he worriedly reached out to touch it. Altair closed the bad eye as his hand got close. It wasn’t a huge black eye, the skin was just a few shades of purple and green and only a little puffy. Not like he’d seen other people get black eyes where their entire face would turn purple and get so puffy the eye would be swollen shut.

“Eh, I’ve had worse,” Altair shrugged.

“That’s not the point,” Desmond said sternly.

“Look, can we do this after school?” Altair asked. “Where there aren’t like fifty people around?”

“I should make you be embarrassed for it,” Desmond was still upset about it.

“Des. C’mon,” Altair sighed a little.

“This is serious, Altair.”

“Sure. After school okay.” Then before Desmond could stop him Altair slipped away from him. Desmond was so mad he’d just blown Desmond off. He wanted to run after him but the tardy bell rang and instead Desmond raced down to his next class. He stewed on it the rest of the day and as soon as the last bell rang Desmond quickly dropped stuff off at his locker and went down to Altair’s shiny, red, Mercedes. He waited on the hood for several minutes before Altair finally showed his stupid beat up face. Altair opened the passenger door for him and Desmond got in. He closed the door and went around to the driver’s side but didn’t get in. Desmond leaned across the middle counsel in worry when he saw Altair lean against the top of his car. Then he opened the door and got in, turning the AC on full blast.

Before Desmond could get in a single word Altair said, “I didn’t start it.”

“What?” Altair sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He folded his arms and didn’t say anything. “Altair,” Desmond said.

“It was that fucker, Shay Cormac,” Altair said.

“Altair, did you beat him up?”

“He _started it_ ,” Altair said. “We just went to talk to him,” Altair looked at him, “I swear that’s all we were going to do-

“We? You mean you and Yusuf? Who else?” Desmond asked. Altair winced a little. “I will be significantly less upset if you just fucking tell me.”

“I’m not good with the whole talking to people thing,” Altair said and Desmond nodded. Yeah he knew that. “So I asked my friends to come with me when I asked these people I suspected had done it. Shay was… uh… the third person we ran into first. He admitted it and called me and Malik some _real_ bad stuff and then tried to punch Ezio for being a ‘faggot sympathizer’. We really did try to just make him calm down but he got real mad when we tried touching him to calm him down or pull him away so we ended up getting into a fight. Some of his friends were around too and they got into it.”

“Is that true? If I asked Yusuf he’d say the same thing?”

“Desmond, why would I lie to you?”

“Because I asked you to drop it and you _didn’t_ ,” Desmond snapped.

“I’m not just going to let someone bully my boyfriend!” Altair cried. “Fuck that. Seriously. I went there to talk and _he_ wanted to fight us. So we kicked his ass.”

“You still didn’t just leave it alone! I told you it wasn’t a big deal and you kept at it. I hate to break it to you but this is just shit you have to deal with when you’re out. This shit happens.”

“Well I think that’s bullshit. We have the same right to be together as Cormac’s single ass,” Altair glared at his steering wheel.

“We do but for fuck’s sake Altair; you could have actually gotten hurt. You could have gotten everyone else hurt. What if something bad had happened? What if someone had been shot or stabbed? What if you guys _lost_?” Desmond demanded. “They’re big sports guys too it isn’t out of the question don’t give me that indignant look,” he scowled right back at Altair.

Altair looked away, out the windshield, still glaring and grumpy. “I’m not sorry for trying to get an apology out of Cormac,” he said, voice tight. “That’s all I was trying to do and it escalated into something I didn’t intend. It’s bullshit you’re getting mad at me for this,” he turned his glare on Desmond. Not exactly glaring at Desmond, just in his direction. “I was trying to do the right thing.”

“Sometimes the right thing when you’re gay is shutting the hell up and leaving it alone,” Desmond hissed. He opened the car door.

“Where are you going?” Altair asked as Desmond got out of the car.

“Going home,” Desmond said sharply. “I got homework and stuff to do that doesn’t involve you.” He knew he was being mean but fuck he was angry!

He closed the door and walked off in a huff. He was mad. Didn’t Altair see he was being stupid and putting himself in danger? He could distinctly remember the bullying Duncan had gotten when he was younger and he’d read a lot of queer testimonials from older people about the horrible things that had happened to them growing up. He remembered being bullied himself when he was in middle school in Texas after he came out to his best friend. After they’d made sure Desmond wasn’t interested in them he’d made fun of Desmond. Hadn’t called him bad names but it hadn’t felt good. By the end of the week everyone knew Desmond was gay it seemed and there had been a few very Texas conservative kids there who hadn’t liked it one bit. Thankfully Desmond’s dad was going to be transferred to Key West in a few weeks so Desmond had only had to suffer a little bit before summer break and then they’d moved.

Altair had pretended and passed as straight his entire _life_. He’d been in the closet his entire life. Out of fear maybe but not fear of being bullied. Out of fear his Muslim practicing grandfather would throw him out. To Altair other people got bullied, or he was the one doing the bullying. He’d never had to deal with being bullied for being himself. If anything the positive reception he got for his closeted behavior just made him want to stay in the closet longer. He didn’t get it that most times it was just better to grow a thick skin about bullies and move on with your life. Altair had never developed a thick skin against bigots or bullies.

By the time Desmond got to his bike he wasn’t quite sure what he was mad about. That he’d become so numb to the horrible shit people said about or to him, or that Altair could have gotten seriously hurt by some assholes. A car stopped behind his bike and he looked at it. It was Altair’s shiny red car. He had the window rolled down. “Desmond-

“Just go home,” he told Altair.

“Are you going to really be mad at me about this?” he demanded.

“I’m mad you got yourself hurt,” Desmond said. “And that you didn’t do what I asked.”

Altair was halfway out of his car, “Even though it upset you? Really you’re going to be mad I-

“Altair, go away!” Desmond said and put on his helmet. He ignored Altair when he tried to talk to him again and pushed his bike around his car and drove off. Altair didn’t follow. When he got home he had a text from Altair that made a stone of regret lodge itself in his throat. It just said, ‘Drive safe’. He sighed as he went inside. He didn’t know how to deal with an aggressive and protective boyfriend _at all_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	99. Chapter 99

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend you listen to some nice depressing breakup music while you read this until they meet up at school and then put on something poppy and fun. I highly recommend “I Can Feel It” by Hey Violet for the poppy bit :3

Altair wasn't worried when Desmond didn't text him Monday night. He knew Desmond was upset and knew it was stupid and he knew Desmond knew it was stupid too. So he just left it alone. On Tuesday Desmond was remarkably absent from the usual place he had lunch with his friends. They told him he was with Clay out talking with people about gossip. So he wasn't there. I'm chemistry he spent his period doing work with Catarina and when the bell rang didn't rush out or wait for Altair. He just got up and left. Altair followed after him and caught him before he got out of the pod. 

“Hey, what's the matter?” he asked Desmond. 

Desmond just turned and gave him a look. “You know, “ he said. 

“Desmond, I'm not apologizing for doing the right thing,” Altair said. 

“Then we don't have anything to talk about,” and just like that he walked off and Altair stared after him. What had just happened? How was this such a big deal? He'd done the right thing! He knew he'd done the right thing, too. Why was Desmond mad at him? He just stared after Desmond in confusion. What was wrong? 

In the class he had with Malik he asked him about it. Malik had nothing good to tell him. Leo used to get mad at him over stupid shit too and really the best thing was just to leave Desmond alone and let him get over it.  Altair asked if that worked for Malik and yeah, it usually did. Also didn't help them not break up in the end. That part especially worried Altair. He didn't want to break up with Desmond. He'd done a lot to get Desmond to like him and now go out with him. The idea that Desmond would want to break up with him over this worried him.

After school, he went and looked for Desmond at his bike. He couldn't find the bike. Had he left already? This entire day was just building into torture of anxiety. All Altair could think was that maybe Desmond didn't like him as much as he said he did. Of course, neither of them really said how they felt. Altair had only told Yusuf and that didn't count because Desmond wasn't around to hear it. It only counted if Desmond heard it. He just decided to text Desmond to make sure he was okay.

‘I'm home already’ was the reply back. Already? That confused Altair but alright. He went to his own car and drove home.

‘Wanna come over?’ He texted Desmond when he got home. He realized he was just being anxious but he really wanted to see his boyfriend. He literally hadn't seen him _all_ day. Which was weird for them.

It took a long time for Desmond to text back. ‘Can't. Busy.’

Altair stared at the text message trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with that. Was Desmond really that mad? Altair had just been trying to do the right thing. He distracted himself with doing his homework. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a lot and finished quickly. Once he was done with that he looked for more to do and ended up in the kitchen. If he was cooking he could focus on that and not that his boyfriend was mad at him. He put on sad music and cooked dinner. He was done when his gramps came home at around eight.

“Everything alright _ibn?”_ Rashid asked him, looking at the food Altair had made.

“Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine,” he lied.

“You sure? You made enough food to feed Ezio’s family and all your friends.”

Altair looked around at what he'd made. He'd made stuffed chicken cutlets, several types of roasted vegetables, scalloped potatoes arranged in a rose shape in the pan, a pasta salad with asparagus and tomatoes, a regular salad with a homemade dressing, turkey bacon wrapped scallops, and a key lime cheesecake he had chilling in the fridge. It was a feast and he'd made it just to keep his mind busy. He guessed this really did look like a cry for help.

“I think I made some of my friends mad,” Altair said. Shit, he'd made a lot of food. Way more than he and his gramps could eat before it went bad. He'd pack it for lunch tomorrow and bring it for his friends to eat tomorrow. They'd eat it for sure. “I was just trying not to think about it…”

“Oh? Who is it? One of your new ones?” Rashid asked as they sat down to eat.

“Yeah…”

“Did you apologize?”

“I didn't do anything,” Altair said almost reflexively.

“Then what are they upset with you about?”

Altair hunched over. “I… might have done something,” he admitted. “Someone on the team was making fun of one of my friends so I went to confront them and make them apologize.”

“Ah, yes,” and Rashid eyed his busted face. He'd already given Altair a stern talking to about it.

“They're mad I stood up for them.”

Rashid gave him another look. “Is that really why they're upset?”

Altair didn't answer right away. For him it was a loaded question. “They're mad I got in a fight,” he consented.

“As they should be. And you blew off their concern, hmm?”

“I did the right thing!” Altair insisted. “I just wanted an apology. I wasn't going looking for a fight. They were bullying my b- friend,” he caught himself before he outed himself. Thank Allah.

“Well they sound very worried about you and that you got into an altercation. Which one of those nice kids you went fishing with is it?”

“Desmond,” Altair said without thinking. He felt even worse now. Desmond was just worried about him and he'd made Desmond worry. He hadn't meant to. He'd just been trying to help and protect him.

“That was the one who had to run to work, right?” Rashid asked and Altair nodded. “He is a good friend if he's more worried about you than being bullied. You might have done the right thing but if that upset him you should still apologize.”

Altair moved his food around on his plate. He wasn't hungry now. He just felt like an asshole. He didn't want Desmond to be mad at him. “I guess.” But Desmond wouldn't talk to him. Would hardly even return his texts. It was stressful knowing your boyfriend was mad at you. “But I was doing the right thing,” he said, practically pleading with his grandpa to agree with him.

“Maybe. But what’s more important? Being right, or your friendship with this boy?”

Altair looked down at his plate. This sucked. This absolutely sucked and his gramps wasn’t wrong. Rashid calmly ate his dinner knowing Altair needed quiet. He didn’t have a good answer. He knew he was stubborn. And he wasn’t _wrong_. Desmond didn’t deserve to be bullied just because he was how he was. Not to mention it had never been about Desmond. Shay was just too scared of Altair and his friends to bully him. Desmond was an easy target. He’d admitted as much. He’d actually been happy Shay had picked that fight so Altair could enjoy beating the shit out of him. He wasn’t actually injured. Some bruises, broken ego, needed some bandages for a split temple, nothing a week of easy going wouldn’t cure. Just the fact that Shay was _that_ spineless to go after his boyfriend, who didn’t even know who Shay Cormac was, because he had a problem with Altair was beyond gross.

He wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t.

Desmond sure thought he was.

Altair had no appetite. He got up with his plate of half-eaten food and went to finish cleaning up the kitchen. He packed the leftovers into Tupperware and stacked them neatly in the fridge. By the time he was done Rashid was bringing his plate in and slotted it into the dishwasher.

“You going to be alright, Altair?” Rashid asked him.

“Yeah,” Altair sighed. “I got homework to do,” he lied for an excuse to go to his room. He listened to more depressing music and aimlessly looked at his phone. He flicked through some of his photos of Desmond in folders behind other pictures. He had a lot of them of Desmond sleeping peacefully in his bed, both snuggled up against him and not. He had others of him at the beach from volleyball last semester. A lot of them were borderline stalker candids but he always looked happy in them at least. 

He checked his social media and played a bit on his phone before getting ready for bed. He did try and get some sleep. Went through the entire ordeal of shower, brushing teeth, getting into bed. Wasn’t working out. Altair couldn’t sleep. Eventually, he gave up around three and went into the kitchen and started baking. It was more complex than just cooking and Altair had to pay attention to mixtures and weights.

Rashid woke up before dawn, saw him, and didn’t say anything. “You make coffee at least?” his gramps asked him, startling him since he’d been listening to music on his headphones to not disturb his gramps.

“Huh?”

“You make coffee?”

“Oh… yeah. Drank it already, sorry,” he said.

Rashid made himself some coffee and watched Altair carefully fold pastry for breakfast. Maybe. Altair was concentrating so hard he didn’t actually know what he was making. He just didn’t want to think about Desmond or that they were fighting. Rashid leaned against the counter. “You going to school today?” he asked, folding his arms.

“Maybe,” Altair said, hardly listening. He was zoned in on what he was doing.

The coffee pot bubbled and Rashid poured himself a cup as Altair put the pastry in the oven. The rest he was laying out on other sheet pans to put in the freezer to get hard for when he wanted to cook them later. Who knew when the hell that would be. Altair didn’t really like breakfast pastry. As he finished Rashid came over to him. “Come perform Fajr with me,” he said.

“Don’t see the point.”

“Not asking. C’mon,” and he pulled Altair away from his pastries. Altair managed to grab a rag to wipe his hands a bit as Rashid pulled him into a room in the house he didn’t visit very often. 

There was a little altar in the room that faced Mecca and prayer rugs already laid out. Altair felt dumb. He still had dough on his hands. It felt wrong to pray when his hands were so dirty. Rashid didn’t notice and just kneeled down in the direction of Mecca. Altair copied him. Rashid had a recording of an imam reciting the dawn prayer he had start playing from an _ancient_ cassette player. It started with the call to prayer but wasn’t very long before the recording of the prayer started. Altair just went through the motions of the _r_ _aka_ ʿ _āt_ mostly. He didn’t have the best relationship with Allah. He’d stolen Altair’s parents when he was a little boy. He’d never really gotten over it.

Allah had come through, though. He’d helped Altair figure his shit out with Desmond. So sometimes the guy in the sky wasn’t all bad. Match made in heaven. That’s what Desmond had said because he jokingly asked God to give him a good boyfriend too.

Altair sat on his calves and stared at the decoration that pointed to Mecca when the prayer was over. That was really all he wanted to be; a good boyfriend. He was trying very hard even if he didn’t know what he was doing most of the time. The recording of the imam was still going when Altair picked himself up off the prayer mat.

“Where are you going?” Rashid asked curiously.

“I need to get ready for school,” Altair said and went back into the kitchen and took out the pastries that were done by now, putting the uncooked ones in the freezer. He left them out to cool and packed the cooler he usually brought out on the boat with leftovers before finally getting all the dough off his hands and going to get dressed. Rashid was making himself eggs and toast when he came back out.

“Altair,” Rashid said as he grabbed the cooler, “If you want to come home early, you can.”

He smiled a little at his gramps. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll see you after school.” Then before he could leave Rashid reached out and gave him a hug. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. Rashid seemed content with what he’d done and went back to his breakfast. Altair went out to his car and drove to school.

He parked out in the back of the lot, where Desmond usually parked his bike so it was out of the way and he didn’t have to be so stressed out about people touching it or it getting knocked over. Altair knew that that bike was Desmond’s baby and that he sure as shit loved it more than he loved Altair. Not that Altair blamed him really. It was a very nice bike.

To his complete and utter surprise Desmond parked right next to his car. He arrived hardly before the bell rang and put the kickstand down. He didn’t get off the bike but did take off his helmet and hang it on the handle bars. Holy shit. He looked _so_ unbearably hot like that in his leather jacket and jeans on top of a black motorcycle. The pipes crinkled with heat after he turned the bike off and just looked at Altair through his driver’s side window.

Altair opened the door and got out. “Hey,” Desmond said, “You know if-

“I’m sorry,” Altair blurted out.

Desmond’s brows rose. “Huh?”

“I’m sorry I’m bad at respecting your wishes all the times. It just makes me mad watching people get taken advantage of so I do stupid shit and try and play hero. I’m sorry I didn’t just drop the stupid sign thing. I want to try and be better at letting childish stuff like this go.”

Desmond just kinda looked up at him in surprise. Like he hadn’t actually expected Altair to pull his head out of his ass and apologize. It took more willpower than he wanted to admit to not start to wring his hands when Desmond just looked up at him then away, down. He checked something on his motorcycle and then heaved himself off it. Altair knew enough about motorcycles to know that you basically had to get off on the right side so you didn’t risk burning the shit out of yourself on the pipes so he didn’t get upset when the bike separated them. Across the lot the first bell rang. Neither of them looked at the school as Desmond walked around the bike to Altair’s side.

Altair’s heart leapt up into his throat when Desmond came up in front of him and kissed him. He practically melted in relief half a second later and kissed Desmond back. “I forgive you,” Desmond said quietly. “I might have… overreacted,” he reached up and touched Altair’s bad eye very delicately. “I just don’t want you putting yourself into situations where you’re going to get hurt,” he frowned and dropped his hand.

“Sorry,” Altair said. “I’m new to this boyfriend thing still.”

Desmond grinned and his heart swelled. Allah, he looked so wonderful when he smiled. That was Altair’s favorite look for him. Just a smile. “I am frightfully aware,” Desmond teased him. “And I… do appreciate you trying to protect me from bullies.” He did!? Altair felt his brows shoot up. “No one’s ever… done that before. It’s been easier to just develop a thick skin than deal with them. I was mostly just upset you got hurt. I don’t like you seeing hurt,” he frowned.

Altair felt warm all over. “I’m sorry I worried you. I’ll try not to do it again.”

“Okay,” Desmond said and Altair’s heart ached in a good way when Desmond reached over and gently threaded his fingers between Altair’s. They both started when the late bell rang. “Shit. Well, there goes my perfect attendance,” Desmond groaned.

“You already didn’t have perfect attendance, you skipped a day,” Altair reminded him.

“Shit, you’re right,” Desmond said. “Well, I don’t wanna make it a habit. C’mon,” he let go of Altair’s hand and went to grab his helmet.

Altair quickly grabbed his backpack. “I brought lunch,” he said.

“Awesome,” Desmond said and Altair had to quickly go after him since he was already walking towards the school. At the front of the school Desmond paused before he went the other direction for class and leaned over to kiss Altair on the mouth. “See you at lunch, can’t wait,” he said with a smile and Altair managed to wave. When Desmond left all the air rush out of him and he deflated a little and felt like he could finally breathe and a dumb smile crossed his face as he stumbled towards his own class.

Looked like he wasn’t always bad at this boyfriend thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	100. Chapter 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update. Don't thank me.

After Altair got into that fight with Shay Cormac there wasn’t an issue. The next few days when he showed up at spring practice to help with the new varsity team for next year everyone had already heard that Cormac had gotten the shit beat out of him for being a homophobic turd. Being one of those in Key West wasn’t easy since the city was so LGBT+ friendly in general. That and Altair had been the best inside backer they’d had in years and other than the speedy black Cuban kid who was their first string running back had more points scored then basically anyone on the team. Shay and his friends wouldn’t even look in Altair’s direction. Good. Shit heads.

It was also better with Desmond and since they weren’t fighting he could appreciate having a boyfriend who was concerned about his bruised face. Altair milked it pretty hard too saying it felt better with kisses and since he had a split lip it was just a good excuse to kiss him when he could. He came over with Malik again the next week for club and his friend was way more into watching the D&D game than he was. Altair just made dinner out of boredom.

Basically, it was a boring ass week and great. Nothing stressful had happened. He just went to school, saw his friends and boyfriend, went home, did his homework and made dinner. Some nights he convinced Desmond to come over and fool around but they never got very far which was frustrating. Mainly because his gramps was _around_. Which was bizarre. Rashid was barely ever around but he was in the Keys for the week. The fact that he was in the Keys for eight days straight was mind boggling to Altair. Usually he was home four days then had to go somewhere, was gone for two days, then was back home for three to four days, gone for a few, back home for a few. Or one of his restaurants suffered some form of disaster and he was gone for a while. Altair could still recall Rashid leaving for almost an entire month when he was a freshman because he had to fire, hire and train a new executive chef at his Atlanta restaurant because the other one had been a closeted Islamicphobe. Apparently he hadn’t been able to get an executive chef job at any good restaurant in Atlanta after Rashid had fired him. You really did not fuck with chefs. But he had been home and that really cut down on private time he could spend with Desmond at his house where he didn’t feel nervous and sure as shit he wouldn’t have sex with Desmond with his gramps home. He’d really rather die.

But finally on Thursday Rashid said he was going to New York for a few days. A friend was opening a new restaurant there and he’d been invited to the opening and had invited Altair but Rashid knew Altair well enough. He didn’t want to go. Altair was grateful. Restaurant openings for guys like his gramps’s friends was always an ordeal and there were always lots of people and probably food media coverage and basically hell on Earth for Altair. But that meant Rashid would be out for a few days and Altair was so grateful.

On Friday after school Altair was waiting for Desmond in the parking lot. He’d started parking out in the back of the lot like Desmond did so he could see Desmond more. Not for the first time Altair realized he was a big gay disaster about having a boyfriend but really was enjoying it quite a bit. Desmond tapped on his window once he made it out to his car. “You know, you don’t have to wait for me. I know you don’t have seven periods,” he said once Altair rolled the window down.

“I come back and see your pretty face,” Altair smirked and Desmond got that cute flustered look when Altair said something charming. “You working tonight?”

“No. I asked off. I wanted to get a start on this stupid essay I have due on Wednesday,” Desmond groaned.

“You wanna come over?”

“Yeah? And do what?” Desmond asked and leaned against his car. He was trying real hard to be cool and in that leather jacket it wasn’t hard.

“Homework and I could make dinner and we’d reacquaint you to my sheets,” he smirked and got to watch Desmond flush.

“Your grandpa home?”

“Nope. He left for New York for a few days. Probably won’t be back ’til Monday.”

“So you’re home alone for the weekend…”

“Mhm. So, wanna come over?” Altair gave him a charming grin. He was deceptively good at them.

Desmond bit his lower lip. “Sure. I need to tell my parents something but sure.”

“Great. I’ll meet you at my place. You wanna put your backpack in the back?” he nodded to the back seat. Desmond nodded and opened the back, tossing his backpack onto the seat. Really Altair wanted Desmond to just drive home with him but he knew Desmond would never leave his bike at school unless something terrible happened and he had to. Desmond really loved that bike and Altair respected that.

“Thanks,” Desmond closed the door and Altair perked up a little when Desmond leaned down and kissed him. That was good. “I’ll meet you there. I have to stop and get gas.”

“Okay.” Altair rolled up his window and waited for Desmond to leave first. Mainly he wanted to watch him mount his motorcycle and Altair leaned forward a little. Allah, he wished that was him. Desmond drove off once he’d zipped up his jacket and buckled his helmet and Altair followed him for a little bit until Desmond turned off at the Circle K to get gas. Altair continued to his house.

He brought their stuff inside and set it on the dining room table so they could do homework and thought about what he wanted to make for dinner. Something good but wouldn’t be _too_ filling or fuck with their stomachs. He _really_ wanted to fuck Desmond and didn’t want to spoil his chances. Maybe just chicken on rice pilaf. He knew Desmond wouldn’t really care. He was always thrilled with whatever Altair made for dinner. That was even if they _made_ it to dinner.

He let Desmond in when he knocked. He immediately yanked off his leather jacket as he came into the house. “Fuck it is _so_ hot,” he complained. “Why does Florida have to be so hot and shitty?” he complained.

“I dunno. You’re free to take off the rest of your clothes if you want,” Altair said. As it was yanking off his jacket had made his shirt curl up along the back some and Altair was easily distracted.

Desmond stubbornly tugged the curl down. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” he huffed.

“ _Immensely_ ,” Altair said.

“I thought you wanted to do homework,” Desmond said.

“I’m more interested in doing you honestly,” and Desmond’s face got all red again. Altair looped his arm around his waist nicely with a grin. “Unless you _actually_ want to do homework?” he scoffed.

“Not… really,” he admitted. “You’re still going to make dinner?”

Altair laughed. “Your priorities.”

“What? You’re the one who asked me out. You knew what you were getting into,” Desmond huffed.

Altair chuckled. “That’s true,” he said and finally kissed Desmond. Like really kissed him. At school they kept it pretty tame to not be that generic gross PDA couple (and they weren’t going to compete with Shaun and Rebecca for that title) and with Rashid home Altair hadn’t wanted to get too heavy. It felt good to kiss Desmond as deeply as he wanted, especially when Desmond looped his arms around his neck. “And yes, I’m still going to make dinner,” he said and Desmond snickered a little. He pulled Desmond towards his bedroom and they ended up making out on his bed for a while. Altair got Desmond out of the rest of his clothes until Desmond literally put his hand against Altair’s face and pushed him away. “What?” he asked, annoyed.

“I wanna take a shower,” Desmond said.

“Yes. Yes. Good idea,” Altair practically jumped off him. Desmond laughed at him as he sat up.

“Guess we know which one of us is worse today,” Desmond said and grinned at him. No clothes and a grin was Altair’s favorite look for Desmond.

“You’re _hardly_ better,” Altair said.

Desmond chuckled but didn’t disagree. He just got up and went into Altair’s bathroom. Altair also went to quickly wash off in the guest bathroom down the hall. Desmond was still in the bathroom when he came back and just waited for him to come out. While he did he looked through his phone boredly, listening to the sound of the shower going. He practically threw his phone away when the bathroom door opened and Desmond came out all naked and a bit damp. He got _very_ excited when Desmond came over to the bed and climbed on top of him and sat astride him just like he did his motorcycle and started kissing him.

It didn’t take very long for them to sort out what was going to happen before dinner and when they did Desmond sounded as appreciative of Rashid not being here as Altair did. Desmond grabbed onto his back as Altair moved against him and each time he moved the sound of his voice was like music to Altair’s ears. He wasn’t in a rush and from the way Desmond was sounding he’d get in a lot of trouble if he went too fast. He grabbed hold under Desmond’s thighs and pulled them up a bit which felt nice and Desmond’s moans changed pitch a bit. It helped too since he didn’t have the best leverage since Desmond was hell bent on keeping him down and against him. He didn’t mind much. Altair kissed against his mouth a little but not for too long since it was hard to breathe or he’d have to stop and he wasn’t into that at all.

Desmond loosened his hold on Altair a bit and he lifted himself up, letting go of Desmond’s thighs to hold himself up instead. He was glad when Desmond’s legs stayed up against his flanks anyway, it was more than a little hot. “Fuck, Altair,” Desmond groaned. He ran his hand up Altair’s chest and Altair kissed him and Desmond moaned a little against his mouth. Then he leaned down and kissed Desmond’s neck and ran his hand down Desmond’s arm to find his hand. He knew Desmond liked it when Altair held his hand while giving him head and this was really his first chance to try out hand holding while having sex. He’d say he was pretty successful when Desmond squeezed his hand back.

Altair pushed himself back up a bit more. Or that was the plan. Desmond grabbed him by the back up the neck and kept him more hunched over. Altair felt his face heat up a lot because Desmond was looking him right in the eye. He licked his lips and laughed a little when Desmond licked Altair’s lips too. “Very funny,” he said.

“I like you down here,” Desmond said.

Altair slowed down a bit and shifted around so he was only holding himself up on his elbows. “Okay,” he said and kissed Desmond again. This time he did stop moving against Desmond to kiss him properly. For the moment sex was forgotten for making out. Desmond squeezed his hand as they kissed and he felt his knees against his sides, one of his feet against his thigh. This was the best. Just the best. He was so glad Desmond was his (finally) and he didn’t just have to fantasize about him. He was actually allowed to have sex with his crush and it not be a sad one night stand but something that felt this good and perfect.

It came out without him realizing he was doing it. Just like when he’d asked Desmond out really. This was obviously a habit. “I love you,” he said when he pulled back briefly and then kissed Desmond again.

“Huh?” Desmond asked.

Well. He’d said it once. And it was real and not just him accidentally blathering it to Yusuf. He meant it too so he didn’t mind saying, “I love you,” again. It honestly was such a _relief_ to say that. He kissed Desmond on the lips and then down around his face and neck. He felt Desmond’s hand slide off the back of his neck to trail down his chest a bit.

It took Altair a few minutes to realize something wasn’t right. Desmond wasn’t as into it now. “You okay?” he asked, Desmond wasn’t even looking at him.

“Hmm? Yeah, fine,” he lied.

“You sure? Want me to stop?” he asked.

Desmond looked honestly surprised he asked that. Altair hadn’t made the fact that he’d been super horny and wanted Desmond a secret. “Yes,” Desmond said, “Will you get out of me? I’m suddenly not feeling well.”

“Yeah,” Altair sat up and pulled out. Desmond sat up too and pulled his legs back to himself and got off the bed. Altair watched him walk into the bathroom in complete confusion. What the hell had just happened?

Desmond didn’t come out again right away and Altair started to get soft. He threw the condom away and pulled on some pajama pants before going over to the bathroom door. He knocked lightly. “Desmond… you okay in there?”

“Yes,” he said in a way that made Altair nervous.

“Everything alright?”

“Yes.”

Altair backed off from the door and went and sat on his bed to wait for Desmond to come out. He had to wait a surprisingly long time. Then Desmond came out. Altair got up. “You okay?” he asked nervously.

“Yeah. Sorry. I’m suddenly not feeling really good,” Desmond apologized. “Stomach kinda hurts.”

“Oh,” Altair frowned.

Desmond picked his clothes up off the floor. “I’m just going to go home. Sorry. I just wanna go home.”

“Okay,” Altair said and helped him a bit. He also got Desmond’s phone from where it was plugged in on Altair’s side table while they’d been having sex.

“Thanks,” Desmond said but seemed disconnected from what was going on and just pulled his clothes on. When he took his phone back he didn’t touch Altair’s hand. Altair felt his scalp prickle. He left the bedroom and Altair followed after him to see him out. Desmond grabbed his bag and his jacket and helmet.

He stopped Desmond before he could leave. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I just don’t feel really good,” Desmond said. But it didn’t sound like how he usually did.

“Okay… text me when you get home. I love you,” and he leaned over to kiss Desmond goodbye. His heart hammered when Desmond didn’t really kiss him back. What was the matter? Desmond said he wasn’t feeling well but this was weird and not like him at all!

“Bye,” Desmond said and went out to his bike and drove off without waving. Altair stood in the doorway staring after him and felt his heart shrivel up. What the _fuck_ had just happened? What the hell had he done?

Altair went back inside and took another shower and jerk off since he hadn’t gotten to finish earlier. When he came back out he checked to see if Desmond had texted him. He hadn’t. That just made Altair’s anxiety worse. He asked Desmond if he was home safe and all he got was a ‘Y’ back for yes. So at least he was home and Altair didn’t have to have that panic attack that he’d gotten into an accident because he’d seemed so out of it. Altair tried not to think about it. Instead he did his homework and listened to music. After homework he texted Desmond a few more times because it was killing him.

‘Are you okay?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘Did I do something?’ ‘I hope you’re feeling better’. None of them were answered. He left it alone for a bit longer and made dinner. Since Desmond wasn’t around he just heated up some leftovers. Desmond still hadn’t responded so he sent a couple more in the same vain. He just wanted to know if Desmond was alright. That they were alright.

He jumped to his phone on the counter when it made the text noise for Desmond while he was cleaning up the little mess he’d made warming the food up in a pan. He was shocked with the message. What the fuck? ‘This is Clay. Stop messaging him you’re stressing him the fuck out. He’ll talk to you on Monday jfc’. What the fuck was he supposed to do with that? And nothing else. That was the only message he got. What the hell was going on? He just turned his phone off after that or he was going to text Desmond more but Clay had told him to stop and he didn’t want to make it worse. So now he just had to wait until Monday? Altair wasn’t going to get any sleep. Instead he got dressed and drove to the grocery store. He wouldn’t have a melt down in public and he’d need something to keep himself busy so he didn’t agonize over whatever the fuck he’d done to make Desmond so upset. It was going to be the longest weekend of his fucking life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 100 chaps y'all!! Wasn't that the best chapter 100 ever??? 8^D
> 
> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too. Or yelling at me for being an asshole for this, that's acceptable too I guess lols
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	101. Chapter 101

 

When Desmond got home he didn’t go inside right away. Instead, he got off his bike and took out his phone, texting Clay.

‘Wanna spend the night?’ Despite the heat, Desmond stayed and waited for a reply text.

‘I thought you were staying with Altair?’

‘Change of plans’

‘Something happen? He do something? Do I need to fight him?’

Desmond smiled a little. ‘No’

‘What he do?’

Desmond’s smile slid off his face. ‘Just told me the same thing Alex would tell me’

‘You okay?’

‘No’

‘I’ll be right over’

Desmond swallowed before going inside. “Desmond, you’re home. I thought you were staying at Clay’s tonight,” Chloe said as he closed the door.

“Yeah, Harold was being a weirdo about it so Clay suggested we switch houses,” Desmond said. “He just had to run and do an errand for his dad before he came over. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she said.

“Cool,” Desmond smiled a little and went to his room to drop his bag off. Once there he laid out on the bed for a bit before getting up and going to rinse off in the shower. He kept it simple so he didn’t get too anxious. Desmond just didn’t want to smell like him. It was better when he could sit on his bed in fresh clothes. He didn’t feel so everything. He wasn’t even sure how to describe what it was other than he hated it. He absolutely hated it.

Desmond started when there was a knock on his door. “Desmond, Clay’s here,” Chloe said and opened the door slowly.

“Oh, thanks, mom,” Desmond said.

“Dinner will be ready in a little bit so don’t come into the kitchen trying to sneak snacks, you two,” she sort of scolded them.

“Us? We would never _dream_ of it, Chloe,” Clay said with a devious grin. Chloe just gave Clay an unamused look and Clay beamed at her. She smiled a little and shook her head before closing the door softly.

As soon as the door was closed Desmond grunted when Clay came over and hugged him so hard he was bowled over. Desmond could tolerate it for a few seconds before he pushed Clay off him. It was nonsexual contact but it still felt like them. He didn’t want to deal with it. Clay got off him and sat next to him as Desmond sat up. “You okay?” Clay asked.

Desmond stared at him. “No? Yes? I don’t know?” Desmond didn’t know. He’d had his initial freak out already in Altair’s bathroom as quietly as he could and now he was just sort of floaty and didn’t really feel like any of it or this was happening.

“Do I need to fight him? Cause I will absolutely fight him,” Clay said seriously.

“No. You don’t have to do that,” Desmond said softly. “I don’t really know what to do,” he ended in a whisper. His leg started to jiggle.

“Well, did you talk to him?” Clay asked. Desmond shook his head. “What happened exactly? I know he did what that assface Alex did but what’d he do that was so bad?”

Desmond felt terrible. Altair hadn’t even done anything _bad_. Desmond had just overreacted. He just wanted to distance himself from this entire situation as much as humanly possible but he knew that probably wasn’t the best idea. He’d done that with all the shit that had happened with Alex and never _dealt_ with all that shit he’d done to Desmond and now this had happened? What if it got worse? What if there was other shit from what Alex had done he didn’t even realize because he’d never been in a relationship since then. Desmond felt sick and started running through all the other shit that could have been.

“Desmond,” Clay touched his arm, making him flinch. “You okay?” Desmond realized he was breathing hard, too fast, his leg was bouncing really fast too. He wasn’t a leg bouncer so to do that was pretty bad. “You look like you’re having a panic attack. It’s okay. Neither of them are here. It’s just us,” Clay was genuinely worried about him. He reached over and grabbed Desmond’s hand.

Desmond’s phone went off and he jumped. He grabbed his phone off the bed and looked at it. Clay snatched it out of his hand. “Give me that, don’t look at it,” he said sternly.

“But I-

“He’ll fucking wait,” Clay said sternly and turned the volume off. “What happened?” he pressed.

“I went over to Altair’s and we had sex and he— he said that thing I can’t say. That thing Alex always did to make me do stuff,” Desmond said in as blandest of terms he could to get around saying anything that would trigger him again.

Clay sighed a little. “That it? And you were fucking after too?”

“Well… he stopped,” Desmond said. “I didn’t think he’d actually notice.” Alex never had. He really didn’t give a fuck if Desmond had ever enjoyed what they did.

“But he did?” Clay asked and Desmond nodded. Desmond heard his phone vibrate a few more times in Clay’s hand and looked down. “Do you want to look at them?” Desmond shook his head, wide eyed. What if Altair was mad? What if he was sending Desmond mean texts? Just the thought made Desmond want to throw up. “Should I answer him to make him stop?” Desmond nodded. “Unlock your phone,” he handed Desmond the phone with the keypad exposed, Clay replied in exactly one second, turned the vibration off and tossed the phone onto the floor. Not hard, just so Desmond wouldn’t look at it and worry. He was really glad Clay was here to look at those texts.

“Was he mad?” Desmond asked carefully.

“Didn’t really read ‘em. Not important. He’s really super not important,” Clay said dismissively. “You don’t have to worry about him.”

“Yeah but-

“He will deal with it, Desmond,” Clay said sternly. “It isn’t your fault he said something upsetting.”

“But it wasn’t upsetting,” Desmond said weakly. He hadn’t been excited about it sure but it wasn’t like Altair had said something _bad_.

“Yes it fucking _was_ if you left in the middle and then had me come over because he said something that triggered you,” Clay said. Desmond looked away, embarrassed. Because fuck Clay as right. And it was such a _shitty_ thing to be triggered by. If anything he should have been thrilled and over the moon. Instead he , as here, trying not to have a second break down in front of Clay because Altair had told him he loved him.

“I don’t want it to be,” Desmond said. Then he covered his face with both hands because fuck there was that breakdown. Just thinking it made him so upset and sort of angry and just sad. This wasn’t fair! Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn’t he have just had a normal relationship with a guy he liked? Some tears leaked out.

“Desmond, this isn’t your fault,” Clay said.

“I’m the one acting like this,” Desmond sniffed around his hands.

“Yeah but you had this happen to you. You didn’t _ask_ to be like this. That assface is who’s fault it is. He _did_ this to you. And it isn’t like you knew this would happen,” Clay was getting genuinely angry about the entire thing. Desmond knew _how_ much Clay hated Alex. Had always hated him and hated him probably more now then he had when Desmond had been seeing him.

They sat there for a minute. Desmond had his hands over his face still before he didn’t want Clay to see him crying. Not that it really helped since his shoulders kept hitching. Clay leaned over and put his forehead on Desmond’s shoulder but didn’t hug him. Desmond was glad he didn’t. He didn’t want a hug. He really didn’t want anyone to touch him but he was glad Clay was doing it this way anyway. It was as much as he could handle really. They stayed like that for a while and finally Desmond could control himself a bit better. “Thanks,” he croaked.

“You’re my best friend,” Clay said like that was all the explanation he needed to give. “I know you really like him. I’m sorry King Fuck Face made it difficult but it isn’t your fault. This isn’t your fault. It happened to you. You didn’t ask for it to happen.” Desmond nodded a little, wiping his face on his shirt. Desmond wasn’t a graceful crier at all so it was pretty gross. “How you feeling?”

“Like shit and that I hate myself,” Desmond said miserably. Clay sighed. “But I’m glad you’re here. I’d be way worse by myself,” he sniffed again and nope. He was not crying again. He stubbornly wiped his eyes. He wasn’t crying over something so stupid anymore! He didn’t want to be like this.

“Boys!” Chloe called from outside the door and Desmond nearly fell off his bed he was so startled. “Dinner will be ready soon. Wash your hands and come set the table.”

“Okay, mom!” Desmond called back. He rubbed an eye again.

“I’ll give you a sec,” Clay said and got up. He left to go wash his hands and Desmond got off the bed and put on a new shirt. He put his phone on his desk face down so he didn’t look at it by accident and followed after Clay to the bathroom.

Clay was already down at the dining room as Desmond went into the bathroom to wash his hands and splash his face with cold water. Or as cold of water as he could get out of the faucet which was at least cooler than body temperature. He patted his face dry. His eyes were still red and puffy. It looked like he’d been crying or had smoked a lot of weed. He’d honestly rather his parents think he was smoking weed since if they knew he was crying they’d ask what was wrong and get out of him that he had a boyfriend he hadn’t been telling them about and they’d tell him they wanted to meet him and Desmond couldn’t deal with that right now. He didn’t even want to think about Altair right now. Honestly, he just hoped Altair didn’t hate him for being weird literally while he was inside Desmond and leaving without really saying anything or even reacting when he’d told Desmond a second time.

With a sigh Desmond left the bathroom and went to go help Clay set the table. Desmond didn’t talk much during dinner. He didn’t need to. Clay did enough talking for all four of them and he was pretty sure his parents didn’t even notice he barely said anything during dinner. His dad looked like he wanted to shoot himself when Clay and Chloe started having a conversation, excluding him and Desmond almost entirely.

“So, how was school today?” William asked him while they were being ignored by his mom and Clay. Desmond just shrugged. “Nothing exciting happen?”

Yeah, I learned I’m fucking triggered when my boyfriend tells me he loves me, Desmond thought sarcastically. “Not really. Just normal boring stuff,” Desmond said, keeping his voice neutral. “I have a lot of homework this weekend, and a big essay I need to write.”

“Is it due on Monday?”

“Tuesday. I got it on Thursday,” he added to William’s stern look. “I knew about it beforehand. That’s why I asked off work this weekend.” William nodded a bit, that made sense.

“What’s it about?”

“Just some boring dead white guy,” Desmond rolled his eyes and William chuckled. “I have it written down but I don’t remember who.”

“Well make sure you get it done,” William said. Desmond nodded.

That was the end of their conversation because Chloe pulled William into the one she was having with Clay which Desmond was grateful for. He was glad when dinner was over. Desmond was excused from dish duty because Chloe was making his dad do it since Clay and Desmond had set the table. He and Clay put their dishes away and went back to Desmond’s room saying homework and no they weren’t going to play video games. Well, not a _lot_ of video games.

Desmond immediately went to his desk and checked his phone out of habit. He dropped it seeing a whole bunch of new texts from Altair. He didn’t see a lot of what they said but he did catch a ‘what happened?’ Clay came over to him, snatched the phone up and replied to them and then put the phone in a drawer on his desk. Desmond was sort of vibrating and everything seemed less real. He didn’t even seem real. He didn’t have a name for what he was feeling. He just felt lifted and floating and distant from what was happening. Clay hugged him and Desmond was made aware he had a body and such again.

“Thanks,” Desmond said. He went and laid down on his bed. “You can put something on if you want,” he told Clay.

“Just no romantic shit huh?”

Desmond’s lips twitched. “Yeah,” he said. Clay came and sat on the bed as well and turned on the TV. Desmond didn’t pay attention to what was playing really. At least not until Clay grabbed his hand. He liked that. He rolled over on the bed to see what show Clay had found. It was Project Runway. Desmond not so secretly loved this show. He was sure Clay was well aware and that was why they were watching it. Apparently, it was a bit of a marathon since the finale had aired last night and they were doing a rerun of it. After a few episodes they stopped watching and got ready for bed. Clay changed in the bathroom.

Desmond wasn’t weird about Clay sleeping in the same bed as him. He hadn’t been weird about that in years honestly. Who the hell gave a fuck anyway? It was also nice and comforting to be Clay’s little spoon too. Even if it was a little silly since Desmond was about three inches taller than him. Desmond was so _glad_ when he could finally pass out. He really just wanted this day to be over. He was grateful when it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No but seriously you guys. If you want continued story reply. FF.net got it canceled for their site cause of seeming lack of interest and I don't post chapters for long fics that don't appear to have readers or engagement. This isn't a threat. I just like comments, they make me feel appreciated for the 5 years I've been continuously updated this fic.


	102. Chapter 102

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole ‘doesn’t talk to their partner for the sake of drama’ is literally my least favorite romance trope in existance. I ain’t having it. 
> 
> That being said. This was a really heavy chapter to right. HO BOY

Altair thought about skipping school on Monday. For starters, he was exhausted. He’d gotten maybe five hours of sleep all weekend. The rest he’d just stayed up cooking or watching movies. He’d tried playing some video games but being able to have choices in what he was doing let his mind work too much. He was also terrified about what would happen when he went to school. That Desmond would be there and say something terrible. He wasn’t even sure _what_. Just that Altair would hate it. Malik told him if he didn’t show up for school he was calling the cops on him for being truant. Altair absolutely believed him too.

He arrived at school late so he wouldn’t have to see Desmond at the start of school. During third period Altair barely paid attention to the teacher. He was just trying to understand all the looks Malik kept throwing him. He still had his phone off so Malik couldn’t text him. After class Malik yanked him aside. “You look like shit,” he said, “You okay?”

“Huh? No. Not really,” Altair said. The lack of sleep was also not helping.

Malik frowned at him. “He’s not mad, Altair. He came by before school looking for you.” That made Altair immediately anxious despite Malik’s assurances. “He was upset you weren’t there. What happened anyway?” he prodded. Altair hadn’t told him when Malik had shown up yesterday to make sure Altair wasn’t dead since he hadn’t been answering any texts or calls. He’d been very happy about all the food Altair had cooked too.

“I don’t know,” Altair said. “I just did something. I don’t know what,” he put his hands in the pocket of his hoodie so Malik couldn’t see them trembling.

“I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” Malik said. Altair didn’t want to get into it. He didn’t tell Malik he was wrong. It was entirely his fault. Why would Desmond have left like that and then needed to have _Clay_ text for him telling him to leave him alone? He hadn’t told Malik about that.

“I need to get to class,” Altair said to deflect and left the pod. Not that it was much of a class. He had a teacher’s aid class and really they usually had him grade papers like three times a week and that was it. Altair just sat in the pod outside the classroom until the lunch bell rang. He didn’t leave right away and Aveline found him.

“Hey, Altair,” she said.

“Hey, Ava,” he said weakly. She looked down at him still sitting at the table. “Malik send you?”

“Yeah. He said you’re being a weenie,” she said. He sighed. He _was_ being a weenie. “You being a weenie?”

“Maybe,” he grumbled.

“Something happen?”

“You could say that?”

“What happened?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Malik asked me to drag you to lunch,” she said. Altair didn’t acknowledge her. “He said in his text, and I quote ‘make sure his gay ass gets downstairs or I’ll send Ezio to get him’, end quote,” she was reading right from her phone. Altair groaned. This was _not_ something he wanted to deal with with Ezio. Ezio always took his friends’ breakups so personally. It was why he’d gotten so uppity about Leo and Malik breaking up. And as moody as he was about Altair not telling him he was gay Altair knew he’d kick Desmond’s ass for breaking Altair’s heart.

He slithered off the chair and Aveline smiled at him. Altair didn’t smile back. “You don’t have to come with me. I know what he wants me to do,” Altair sighed and left the pod. He was at the stairs but was surprised when Desmond was coming _up_ the stairs. Altair froze.

“Altair,” Desmond said, surprised to see him. What was he doing up here? Altair had no idea. “Did you sleep last night?” Altair just shook his head, looking at Desmond wide-eyed. Desmond looked sympathetic and came over to him. Altair took a few steps back nervously. Desmond frowned. “I’m sorry about Friday,” he said. _Desmond_ was sorry? Desmond hadn’t done anything wrong.

“It’s okay-

“No, it isn’t,” Desmond said firmly. When he stepped closer Altair didn’t step back quick enough before Desmond grabbed his hand. Then to Altair’s immense surprise and absolute relief Desmond kissed him very softly on the lips. It made the hair on the back of Altair’s neck stand on end and he wanted to just collapse and melt into the floor as all his anxiety evaporated. Desmond didn’t hate him. He wasn’t mad at Altair for whatever he’d done. “I want to talk about it but not right now. After school, okay?” Altair nodded. “Feel better?” Altair nodded. Desmond smiled a little.

“Wanna go get lunch?” Altair heard himself ask. Really now that he knew Desmond wasn’t mad at him he just wanted to be alone with his boyfriend. Not to do anything. Just to be with him.

“Sure,” Desmond said. “How about Publix?” Altair nodded and when Desmond headed downstairs Altair followed him, still holding hands. He didn’t really feel like he was walking. He was just happy and floating now. They went and got lunch at Publix and made it back just in time for Chemistry but had to eat their subs in class.

Altair made it through the rest of his classes and took a nap in the last one since it was another teacher’s aid class. Altair had _too_ many credits. He was that sort of boring person with somehow too many credits- he’d asked if he could just do extra credits in summer school- and not enough interest in extracurricular activities outside of football. So he had two aid classes a day which was excellent for him. His seventh-period teacher never made him do anything else for the very few times they asked him to stay for ten minutes and alphabetize some papers for her. He just took the chance to nap so he wasn’t so out of it for whatever Desmond wanted to talk about after school.

Desmond was waiting for him at his car. Altair quickly unlocked it and turned on the AC so they didn’t die in the oven cars became in Florida. Before Desmond could say anything Altair blurted out, “I’m really sorry. You’re sure you’re not mad or going to break up with me?”

Desmond looked genuinely taken aback. “Heh. No, I’m not mad, and I’m absolutely not going to break up with you. I think Clay would kill one of us if I did and it wouldn’t be you,” he said with amusement. That was more stress off Altair’s shoulders. He’d been dreading today because he’d been _so sure_ Desmond was going to break up with him. Then Desmond sighed and leaned back in the seat. Altair got the sense he didn’t want to have this conversation either.

“Do you want to go somewhere?” Altair asked him.

“Hmm?”

“Like somewhere not my car?”

“Like where?”

“I dunno. A beach or one of our houses?”

“I think the beach would be fine,” Desmond said. Altair nodded and pulled out of the space. Desmond leaned against the window. He looked like he was thinking very hard and like he wasn’t happy about what he was thinking about and that he didn’t want to have this conversation at all. It started to make Altair anxious again. They arrived at Smathers and Desmond got out and found a place under some palm trees in the sand to sit. Altair sat across from him.

“So… what happened on Friday?” Altair asked anxiously. He realized he was also stupid and was still wearing his hoodie. He took it off before he started to get too hot.

Desmond didn’t answer him right away. He played with his hands a moment like he was psyching himself up. “So I’ve told you about my other boyfriend, the one before, you, right?”

“You’ve mentioned him,” Altair said. “That he was in the closet and that sucked. You, thankfully, don’t talk about him much.”

“Yeah… well… the reason I don’t talk about him is cause I have tried really fucking hard to pretend we were never together,” Desmond said and that shocked Altair. He wasn’t aware Desmond was capable of being like that. It seemed so petty. “He was a senior when I was a freshman and yes, it’s about as creepy as it sounds. He was also… really abusive to me while we were together,” Desmond wouldn’t look at Altair. Okay. Not petty at all. Altair immediately hated this guy. Whoever he was Altair loathed him. “I’d never been with anyone before, let alone another guy and he was a lot older than me but I thought it was neat because I thought it meant I was mature. I’d kissed some other guys before but he was my first serious relationship.

“Or— well it was serious to me at the time. Looking back at it it was a train wreck and he really didn’t care about me at all and if anything he was super creepy and predatory because I was new to school and young and didn’t know him or anyone really.” Desmond was incredibly uncomfortable talking about this and Altair felt bad he had to go through it. “Basically I wasn’t allowed to acknowledge that we were in a relationship— ever really. He sure as shit didn’t unless he wanted me to do something I didn’t want to do.” Altair saw where this was going and he felt sick. “If I ever tried to say no or not want to do something he’d say shit like ‘but Desmond, I love you’ or ‘if you love me you’d do it’. I didn’t really think much of it at the time and it wasn’t an issue for me really after he graduated and then just stopped talking to me cold turkey, which sucked when it happened but I’m glad he did.” Desmond rubbed the side of his neck. He looked so uncomfortable having to explain this to Altair and wouldn’t look at him at all still.

“Oh,” Altair said. It made a lot more sense now. “I’m sorry I triggered you, I didn’t mean to-

“I know you didn’t,” Desmond said quickly. “And it isn’t your fault. I didn’t — know. Like it isn’t like I freak out when my parents tell me they love me or the rest of my family or friends.”

“It’s just that situation?” Altair asked.

“I guess?” Desmond didn’t know either.

“Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, now I am,” Desmond said.

They were silent for a few minutes. This was was real and serious issues Desmond was dealing with. Altair wasn’t quite sure _how_ to go about helping it either. This other guy had really fucked him up. “I don’t mean to ask an uncomfortable question but what was his name?” Altair asked.

“What’s it matter? Last I heard he lived in north Florida, he went to school in Tallahassee.”

“Cause I probably would recognize him and if he ever comes back around and I see him I can punch his fucking teeth in,” Altair said.

“That isn’t needed. I just wanna pretend it never happened.”

Altair wanted to press the issue but he remembered the last time he’d pressed the issue on something Desmond just wanted to get over. “Okay,” he said. He was already planning on asking Kaczmarek. He was sure Clay hated this ex of Desmond’s since they were such good friends and he’d been the one Desmond had called to come over and help him. If Altair told Clay he wanted to fight this dude he was sure he’d give the name up immediately. “So what should I do to be better about it?”

“I don’t know,” Desmond said rather helplessly. “This has never happened before. I don’t know what’s okay and what isn’t.”

“Okay.” That seemed reasonable to him. “Obviously not when we have sex though?” Desmond covered his face with both hands even as he nodded. “What’s the matter?” Desmond didn’t say anything. Shit what had he said now? He’d just asked a question. Was that bad too? “Des?” He reached over and put his hand on Desmond’s knee.

“I’m such a shitty boyfriend,” he heard Desmond’s voice through his hands. Was he crying? Altair felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“No you’re not,” Altair said.

Desmond didn’t say anything for a minute before he rubbed his face a little and pulled his hands away from his face. “Sorry,” he said. His eyes were a bit red. Altair wasn’t sure if it was from rubbing his face or because he had cried.

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong,” Altair said, confused. “Do you just not want me to say or mention it at all?” Truthfully that broke Altair’s heart a little.

“No!” Desmond said, finally looking at Altair with a great intensity. “No I don’t want you to do that,” he qualified. He slumped a bit. “I just…”

“Desmond, you can tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. You just have to tell me,” Altair said gently and squeezed his knee.

Desmond rubbed his face with both hands a moment. “I don’t want to be like this,” he said. “I don’t want you just even mentioning how you feel freaks me out. I hate it. I hate being like this.”

“Desmond-

“And I really don’t want King Fuckface to still be fucking me up even though I haven’t seen him in like three years.” Altair nodded. Of course not. “I don’t want _that_ to be the only experience I have with people saying that kinda stuff to me.” Altair noted Desmond couldn’t say it himself. He was going out of his way _not_ to say the words Altair had used.

“So what do you want me to do?” Altair asked gently.

“You— can tell me. But absolutely not when we’re intimate. At all.” That hurt to hear. But Altair also knew it hurt Desmond more. He could tell by the anguish on his face he didn’t want to tell Altair to not tell him he loved him. “And… I don’t know if I can say it back. It felt like lying with King Fuckface and I don’t want it to feel like lying to you because I like you so much and don’t want to say things that make me uncomfortable to you.” That hurt too.

“Okay,” Altair said. “If that will make you comfortable.” Desmond nodded but he seemed shaky and rubbed his arms a bit. Now Altair understood why Desmond was talking about the phrase. It felt like a lie to him. “Do you wanna go home?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Desmond said weakly. “I’m sorry. I’m _sorry_ ,” he said empathetically.

“I’m not upset,” Altair said. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

Desmond looked conflicted a moment. “Yes,” he said and Altair leaned over and kissed him gently. Desmond kissed him back. Altair cupped Desmond’s face with one hand but didn’t deepen the kiss. He wanted this to be sweet and soft. Desmond was still a little flustered when he was done.

“Let’s go back to your bike,” Altair said and got up. He offered Desmond a hand and pulled Desmond to his feet. They brushed the sand off the back of their ass and legs and went back to Altair’s car. Desmond was quiet on the drive back to the school parking lot. When Altair parked next to his bike Desmond grabbed his helmet from between his feet got out without saying anything. Altair glanced into the back seat. Desmond had forgotten his backpack.

Altair reached back for the bag and got out of the car. “Oh- thanks,” Desmond said sheepishly when Altair showed him his left bag. “My house keys are in there.” He took the backpack.

“You okay to drive?” Altair asked him.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Desmond said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Desmond nodded.

“Okay.” Altair hugged him tightly. Desmond hugged him back just as tight. “We’re okay,” he told Desmond softly. Desmond nodded against his shoulder and Altair just held him until Desmond wanted to let go.

It took a bit for that to happen. “Okay, it’s too hot for this gay shit,” Desmond said and Altair laughed and let him go. “Thanks,” Desmond said.

“Drive safe. I love you,” Altair said. Desmond looked away. “That okay?”

“It isn’t Bad,” Desmond said.

“Okay.”

“I’ll text you when I get home, make sure your phone is on,” he said. Altair nodded. Desmond gave him a peck on the cheek and then got on his bike. Altair went to his car as Desmond backed out of the space. He didn’t follow Desmond right away. Instead, he pulled his phone out and turned it on for the first time all weekend. Once he connected to a tower his phone just exploded with texts and missed calls. Most of them were from Malik a few texts from Ezio. He checked them before putting his car in reverse. Nothing too important. And he saw he had another one from Desmond. It had been sent on Saturday, early in the morning and it was positively a novel. The type of text you glanced at on someone else’s phone and expect a fight.

‘I’m really sorry about Friday. I don’t know what happened. I hope you aren’t upset. Please don’t freak out. You didn’t do anything wrong and I want you to get some sleep because I know you stress about things like what Clay might have said. I’m not mad at you. Something happened and I had to leave. I’ll tell you about on Monday in person cause it’s too much and too important to do so over text or phone but I don’t know if I can see you right now. My issue, nothing to do with you. I feel the same way I just can’t tell you. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.’

Altair smiled at the text. The conversation with Desmond had hurt a lot. It had been heavy and painful and terrible but necessary. It had been an important conversation. He also wished _he_ wasn’t like how he was because if he’d seen this text it would have made him feel a lot better and his fridge wouldn’t be full to bursting with food he still needed to either fork off on his friends or the food bank. Of course it would have taken him about three hours to work up the nerve to read a long text like that but he would have and felt better.

Altair put his phone down and finally pulled out of the parking lot to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too. Or yelling at me for being an asshole for this, that's acceptable too I guess lols
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit.


	103. Chapter 103

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I need some sweet and fluffy goodness after those last few chapters idk about you.
> 
> Also for everyone who's been wondering about our heart broken boy Connor he's coming back next chapter *finger guns*

On Tuesday Desmond wasn’t surprised at all when Altair showed up with lunch. He’d confessed over text to cooking for a small army over the weekend and was going to bring a bunch of food for all his friends for lunch. He was surprised with how _much_ he showed up. And not just for his friends either. Altair showed up at where Desmond and his friends hung out with a cooler. “My, you were really freaked out,” Desmond said when Altair pulled out no less then four Tupperware containers.

Altair just gave him a look. “Don’t be ungrateful,” he said.

“Oh I am loving it are you kidding?” Desmond grinned at him. “This is a lot of food,” he added.

“Well you’re going to share. My friends have their own cooler upstairs-

“Wait wait, back up,” Clay said loudly. “ _We_ get to eat that?”

“Well you don’t have to,” Altair shrugged. “But I’m just giving away whatever isn’t eaten today. I have really way too much.”

“Clay, get that stupid look off your face. He’s _mine_.”

“I knowwww,” Clay groaned.

“You’re lucky your girlfriend isn’t here,” Shaun said mildly.

“She knows I’m a hoe,” Clay said smartly and Rebecca snorted into her Red Bull. “A food hoe. What did you bring?” he leaned over Altair’s shoulder.

“Here,” Altair handed him a container. “Now go sit and be quiet Kaczmarek.”

“That’s the last thing he’s going to be now,” Desmond sighed. Altair handed a container to Rebecca as well and asked Shaun if he was interested. Unlike the rest of them Shaun always had an _actual_ lunch his mom packed him. He took it just to see if he wanted anything and then Altair gave Desmond his. “You bring one for Lucy?”

“I brought like a dozen of them. There is plenty,” Altair said.

“You should totally sell lunch, Altair,” Clay said. “You’d make a killing and it’s delicious.”

Altair grimaced, “That seems like way more social interactions then this loser can handle,” Desmond said and teasingly grabbed his chin. Altair playfully pushed him off. “Talking to people? The horror,” he said in mock shock. Altair rolled his eyes at him.

“Just a thought. I’d buy lunch from you,” Clay shrugged.

“What’s this?” Lucy asked when she showed up with her own lunch.

“Altair brought lunch!” Rebecca said.

“That’s nice of you,” Lucy smiled at him. “You say thank you?” she asked them.

Desmond’s friends shared a guilty look before, in unison, said “Thanks Altair.” Altair flushed and mumbled something about it not being a big deal and it was so cute. Desmond just smiled at him.

“You want some?” Desmond asked.

“My step dad brought me some lunch,” Lucy said. “I appreciate the offer.” She went and sat next to Clay.

Once Altair had eaten some he looked up at Desmond. “Wanna come over after school?”

“Maybe. What did you have in mind,” Desmond said. He was a bit leery about the entire thing. He knew Altair wouldn’t do anything on purpose but if he had an issue with something so benign what else had Alex done to to effect him that he didn’t know about.

“Homework and then you wanna go out?”

“Out like—?

“Like out for dinner. I would say we could go see a movie but there is nothing out,” he sighed.

“Sure. Nowhere I have to wear a collared shirt,” Desmond said and Altair chuckled.

“Sure,” he said, still grinning a bit.

“Can’t stay over. Parents don’t like me over other people’s places on week days.” It wasn’t a lie but it was a convenient truth. Desmond was sort of nervous about being in a sexual situation with his boyfriend again.

“Okay,” Altair said. Altair reached over and put his hand on his thigh. “You okay?” he asked quietly so just they could hear each other.

“Hmm. Yeah. I’m fine,” Desmond said. He wasn’t lying there either. He was feeling a lot better today since he’d talked to Altair and explained things to him.

“Good. I’m glad,” Altair said and leaned over to kiss him briefly on the mouth and Desmond felt his stomach turn over in a good way. “I love you,” he said like a secret and Desmond had conflicting feelings. On one hand his lunch soured in his stomach and the other his heart did a backflip in joy. He really did hate feeling this way. Desmond knew there was no way he’d be able to say that back to Altair without literally triggering himself. So he just kissed Altair back. It really did make him so happy to know the guy he’d crushed on for _so_ long and was now dating felt like that about him.

“Guys, get a room, jeesh,” Clay teased them. Desmond just flipped him off while still kissing Altair. Clay laughed. But he did stop kissing Altair, reluctantly and went back to his lunch.

“I am gonna go home after school to change and I’ll meet you at your place, okay?” Desmond asked.

“Sure.”

“Your grandpa home?”

“He gets home sometime tonight,” Altair said thoughtfully. Desmond nodded and finished his lunch. “You want more? Lucy didn’t want hers,” Altair asked.

“Don’t tempt me,” Desmond groaned. “I haven’t been running lately and uhg,” he patted his stomach. He’d gained some weight since he started dating Altair between Altair just cooking all the time and buying Desmond lunch so often. All his clothes still fit but his favorite pair of jeans was starting to get tight.

“What? You mean this bit of fluff here?” Altair teased him and poked his lunch pudge lightly. “Oh nooo what will we do if both of us aren’t skinny gays?” That made Desmond howl with laughter. Altair smiled.

The bell rang shortly after and Altair told Desmond to go ahead. He needed to go get his other cooler from his friends and take it back to his car so he’d be late. Desmond went on without him and didn’t think too much about Altair waving and then immediately asking Clay for his container back. Catarina and he worked on their book problems and she complained about her boyfriend a bit to him. “Sorry, can’t relate,” Desmond said quietly. “Mine’s awesome.”

“Well aren’t you special,” she said, a bit bitter, a bit jealous, but not actually mad.

“Yeah, I am,” Desmond said brightly and he could see some resentment. Desmond would have hated himself in her situation too so he didn’t think too much about it.

The rest of the day was uneventful and Desmond went home to shower and change. Not into nice clothes. He didn’t want to make his parents ask questions. He just said he was going to do homework with Clay and Lucy at her place and yes he’d be home before curfew and yes he’d drive safe. He had some more ‘going out’ clothes in his backpack with his homework and he drove over to Altair’s.

Surprisingly they did do their homework. It was surprising because Altair kept stealing kisses from him and being distracting by being handsome and Desmond would sometimes be reminded of that fact randomly when he looked at Altair. They did homework for a bit before Altair said, “We should get going if we want to get dinner at any reasonable hour. You aren’t… wearing that are you?” he squinted critically at Desmond’s shirt.

“No. I brought a regular shirt,” Desmond rolled his eyes at him.

“Okay. If you hadn’t you could borrow one of mine,” Altair said.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I think you look very hot in clothes that look like they fit you, yes,” Altair said firmly and Desmond felt his cheeks flush a little. “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Desmond shrugged. “You know I’m easy-

“In some things, yes,” Altair gave him a look and Desmond turned a bit more red.

“S-shut up. You’re worse than me,” Desmond said, voice cracking and had to clear his throat.

Altair just chuckled and got up. “I’m going to change too.”

“I don’t really know places to go out,” Desmond said. “My family isn’t big on going out to eat and me and my friends just always go to El Sib or the Coffee Queen for breakfast. We’re boring.”

Altair sighed. “Alright, _I’ll_ pick.” Desmond just grinned awkwardly at him. “You can change in the guest room if you want.”

“What? You’re putting me in the guest room?” Desmond asked, grabbing his chest dramatically.

“You can change in my room but I don’t guarantee we’ll make it to dinner,” Altair said as a promise and threat that Desmond took very seriously.

“Fine,” Desmond huffed and went to change his shirt in the guest room. He’d brought one of the shirts Altair had bought him. He waited for Altair in the living room and when he came out Desmond was sort of annoyed. He’d changed his entire outfit _and_ styled his hair. It was just an off white button up tucked into a pair of black jeans but it was way more dressed up then when he went to school. “Showing me up, huh?” Desmond asked.

“Hmm? No. We just have a different definition of ‘casual dinner date’,” Altair said without any teasing. “Though really it’s easy to look ‘fancy’. You just have to do one thing.”

“Yeah? What’s —that!?” he squeaked when Altair helped himself to Desmond’s shirt and quickly tucked it into Desmond’s pale wash jeans. “Little warning would be nice,” he said.

“And miss out on how cute your face looks when I do that?” He kissed Desmond on the cheek. “Let’s go,” and grabbed Desmond’s hand.

“Where are we going?” Desmond asked.

“I thought the Flaming Buoy would be nice? It’s not a fancy place but the food is good.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Desmond said.

“It’s kinda new.” They got into his car. “Very Key Westy,” he said as a way to describe the place and Desmond knew exactly what he meant by that that was hard to describe to people who didn’t live in the Keys.

“Sounds fun,” Desmond smiled. The drive to the place was pleasant and they had to park a bit down the street and walk to the restaurant. Since it was Tuesday there was no wait time for two people and they were seated quickly. They ordered drinks and were allowed to look at the menu.

“What did you wanna do after this?” Altair asked.

“I dunno? Sleep off dinner?” that made Altair chuckle. “We could walk down the strip. That’s always interesting.”

“Meh, the end of February is boring. Spring breakers haven’t started showing up yet and everyone is tired from Valentine’s.” Then he glanced up at Desmond like he realized he’d just talked way too much about the subject. “We can if you want. There’s a good ice cream place down there.” Desmond leaned one elbow on the table and gave him a look. Altair slowly got more uncomfortable the longer Desmond said nothing. “What?” Desmond rose his brows at him. “What? You know I used to sleep around, don’t act so offended I know when drunk college boys come around.”

“I don’t share well,” was all Desmond said.

Altair leaned over the small table and Desmond’s stomach rolled over when he kissed him lightly on the lips. “That’s my line,” he said seriously and Desmond glanced down. “What are you going to get for dinner?” he asked as he sat back in his seat.

“I think the hogfish special is calling to me something fierce,” Desmond said.

“Oh, that sounds good. I’m getting the lobster mac,” he put his menu down. The waiter came and took their order. “So I have been meaning to ask you… you’re sixteen right?”

“Uhg. This again?” Desmond groaned.

“Don’t be like that. Just answer the question.”

“Yeah, I’m sixteen,” Desmond rolled his eyes.

“So when do you turn seventeen?”

“Mmm, the thirteenth.”

“The thirteenth? As in, next month the thirteenth?”

“Yeah?”

Altair looked deeply offended. “And you’re just _now_ telling me this?”

“What? I don’t know when yours is I don’t know why it matters?”

“Mine’s in January, doesn’t matter, happened already. Yours is coming up.”

“Yeah?” Desmond was still really confused why Altair was so uppity about this.

“What do you want?” Altair asked.

“What?” he felt like a broken record. He didn’t understand what Altair was about at all.

“For your birthday, what do you want?”

“Oh- ah- um… you don’t have to get me anything,” he said awkwardly.

“Well I am. So what do you want?” Altair said firmly.

“Uh—“ everything Desmond had ever wanted left his head. Desmond had no idea what an appropriate gift to ask your boyfriend to get you for your birthday was. He didn’t even know boyfriends _did_ that. Alex sure hadn’t and that was Desmond’s only experience with boys. “I don’t know? I’m not really good at coming up with things on the spot,” he confessed just to have something to tell Altair and not leave him waiting.

Altair nodded like that was a fair thing to say. “Think about it,” he said. “What do you do to celebrate usually?”

“Uh. My parents usually take me to dinner. Birthdays were more a big deal when I was little. Now it’s more an excuse to go somewhere fancy and give me some gifts. I don’t really do anything for my birthday— and don’t even think of throwing me a party,” he added.

“Have you met me? Like hell I’m throwing you a birthday party. I’d literally rather die before planning a party,” Altair said, deadpan. That made Desmond laugh. “But we should go out. Maybe not _on_ your birthday cause that’s you and your parents going out. But maybe the day before or after?” Desmond nodded. “Also when are you going to tell them about me?”

“What? You want my dad’s legendary stink eye and passive aggressive remarks about only one of his sons having grandchildren,” Desmond rolled his eyes.

“No but just—“ the waiter came by to check on them and told them their food would be out soon. “It’s bad enough we have to sneak around my gramps. I don’t really like having to sneak around your mom. She’s so nice.”

“She is.”

“And it’s been a few weeks. Surely you should tell them? Aren’t they suspicious about you going over to ‘Clay’s’ so much?”

“Nope. I went over to his house just as much as I say I do now. Honestly the only suspicious part is how often I go over there and how little he comes over now. My mom thinks of Clay like her fourth, more talkative and hyperactive son,” he smiled a little. “I’ll tell them eventually,” he shrugged.

“Mmm,” Altair leaned back in his chair. Then he looked up when their waiter came with their plates and set them down for them. “Thanks,” he said and the waiter filled their drinks for them and left them to enjoy their food.

“Honestly even if I told them we were dating they’d go ‘that jock boy? Very funny Desmond.’ Wouldn’t believe me at all.”

“That’s mean.”

“No. They just know me,” Desmond chuckled. “Jocks aren’t _really_ my type.”

“But I am?”

“Well… yeah. Hot and smart and got a great ass. What’s not to like? Usually jocks are stupid even if they are cute. So hard to find where the three way pie chart meets. It’s always two of the three,” he lamented sarcastically. Altair smirked.

The rest of dinner passed easily. Altair asked if Desmond still wanted to walk down Duval and Desmond decided, no, he didn’t. He’d rather go back to Altair’s and hang out. And finish his homework too. They finished dinner, shared a dessert and Altair got the check. “Are you _ever_ going to let me pay for anything?” Desmond sighed.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“You heard me,” Desmond gave him a look.

“Probably not. Get used to it,” Altair smirked.

“Uhg. I’m not a girl who needs you to pay for everything you know.”

“I know. I just like paying for things,” Altair said. The waiter came back and took the check. “Like I told you, my gramps doesn’t mind when I take my friends or myself out to eat. He’s just glad I’m not lonely at home all the time.”

“Uhg, you’re killing the mood, Altair.”

“You brought it up,” Altair shrugged. “Now stop complaining and let me spoil you.”

Desmond sighed a little but didn’t argue. When the check came back Desmond snatched it. “I get to pay for the tip,” he said.

“Heh, okay,” Altair let him have that. Desmond looked at the check and pulled out his wallet, leaving an appropriate amount of money on the table. Desmond always tipped well. As a waiter himself he knew the struggle of assholes who didn’t tip twenty percent or sometimes not even ten percent. “Shall we go?” Altair asked him. Desmond nodded and they got up.

Outside Desmond pulled his shirt out from his pants. He didn’t like tucking his shirt very much. When they got back to Altair’s car he was so not prepared for Altair leaning across the seat and kissing him deeply or his hand slipping up the front of his untucked shirt. Altair kissed him like he’d never get to kiss Desmond again and it was so good and sweet and soft and gentle. Desmond really appreciated that yesterday and today all of Altair’s kisses and touches had been so soft and sweet and nice. “Too bad we just had dinner, cause I could eat you right up,” Altair said basically against his mouth. Desmond flushed.

“Slow your roll,” Desmond said to try and get some measure of control back. It would have been so easy to just say fuck it too.

“Yeah,” Altair leaned back reluctantly. “Homework when we get back then I’m going to see about getting you out of that shirt, huh?”

“Ahhh—“ Desmond’s brain just didn’t cooperate but the fact that he was still flushed said enough. Altair just smirked and leaned back into his own seat and drove off.

They did end up finishing the rest of their homework but Desmond got out of the other part saying he wanted to go home and triple check his essay due tomorrow. The one he’d turned in today. But it was a good excuse since he only had it on his laptop at home and was almost getting a not great grade in English. He wanted to keep that A, no matter how close it was to a B. Altair just kept kissing him and didn’t want him to leave which gave Desmond lots of butterflies knowing his boyfriend wanted him to stay. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.

“Yeah but that’s so long away,” Altair said. He had his hands on Desmond’s hips and his mouth near his ear.

Desmond laughed a little. “You’ll survive. I know you will,” Desmond said with a grin.

“I guess,” Altair said, hands sliding around to his back pockets.

“If I stay much longer your gramps will be home before I leave and then you have to explain to him why I’m here so late,” Desmond said.

Altair frowned. “Yeah,” he sighed. “Way to kill the mood, Desmond.”

“You’ll live,” Desmond teased him and gave him a peck on the lips. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Altair said and reluctantly took his hands from around Desmond’s waist. “Drive safe. I love you,” he gave Desmond another peck on the lips.

“I will. I’ll text you when I get home,” Desmond promised and before he convinced himself to kiss Altair again he left. His stomach was just one huge knot. He didn’t know if it was full of butterflies or if everything was exactly Wrong. It wasn’t like Friday. It was just a sort of sinking feeling with the same exact and opposite proportions of excited backflipping. Desmond hated that he couldn’t _just_ have the excited backflipping. He’d really just prefer that feeling and not the other one. But it wasn’t Wrong at least. It was just a bit Not Great which he could manage. He wanted it to go from Not Great to Great to Awesome whenever Altair told him how he felt because that was what part of him felt.

He cleared his head and got on his bike. He drove towards US1 and passed only one car going down the road. When he got home he texted Altair as he promised and totally missed his dad’s shrewd look when he said he was home. It didn’t even occur to him that he’d left home wearing a different shirt. He just went to take a shower and crawled into bed to watch bad TV for an hour or so before he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story or are excited about the update you should leave a comment. Even if to just say 'I love this story!' I appreciate all of them and let me know you appreciate me too.
> 
> ALSO you should def visit my [writing blog](http://shotgunsandstars.tumblr.com) for previews, whining, and other gay shit. Or my [regular blog](http://xazz.tumblr.com) for even GAYER shit.


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